Jaime Benson
by wiildrose
Summary: Jaime Benson is the sixteen year old daughter of Olivia Benson. She's independent, sarcastic and a little bit rebellious. Follow her journey through troubles and friendship as she befriends her mothers new partner Nick Amaro.
1. Chapter 1

_**Writer's Note:**_

Hey, this is my first Law &amp; Order fic and I'm just going to try and see how this goes...

* * *

**Chapter 1**

I walked into the precinct and entered through the Special Victims Unit, hearing the familiar buzz of working officers and detectives. I haven't been in here for a couple of months and the aura of the place felt different without my mother's old partner Elliot Stabler.

I clenched my hand around my messenger bag tightly as I looked over at the empty desk that he once sat in. It broke my mother's heart when he left and I know that she still misses him. I miss him too. He became less of my mother's partner and more of my friend over the years and it's weird not seeing him sitting at his desk like I've seen him many times before.

"Hey, can I help you?", I heard a gruff voice from my left, making me turn.

A man in about his mid-thirties, Hispanic with tanned skin and dark hair and eyes looked up at me from his desk which was directly across my mother's which she wasn't currently occupying.

"Hi… I'm looking for Detective Benson", I said taking a step forward and placing my hands on the back of my mother's chair.

"She's busy right now but I can help you if you like", He gave me nod, as the pen in his hand hovered over the paper he was just writing on.

I was about to respond when I heard a very familiar voice.

"Jay-Jay!", Fin called as he walked into the precinct holding a styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand with a blonde following beside him. "Where you been, kid?", he smiled as he wrapped one arm around me in a half hug, holding his coffee out in the other hand so he doesn't spill it.

I smiled as he pulled away "School's been keeping me busy", I replied with a groan as I looked down at my school uniform which consisted of a navy and charcoal skirt, an untucked white blouse, navy tie, a black V-neck sweater with the school emblem on it, black stockings, low-top all black Converse Chucks and my favourite black leather jacket with grey fleece sleeves and an attached grey hood which I stored in my locker because I wasn't allowed to wear during school hours since it's not uniform. My school has a very strict dress code. Hence, private schools suck. "I'm only here because Mum wanted to take me out for Lunch because we've barely seen each other all week"

"Yeah, it's been pretty hectic here", Fin nodded and then turned to the blonde beside him and the other Hispanic guy that I talked to when I walked in. "Well, let me introduce you to the new guys", he said as he turned to the blonde, "This is Detective Amanda Rollins, my new partner"

Detective Rollins smiled with a nod, "Nice to meet you", she seemed nice.

"And this Detective Nick Amaro", Fin introduced him.

"You're my mums new partner", I said, remembering my mother mention his name before.

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about you", he smiled.

Just then a phone went off and Rollins pulled out hers, unlocking it with a swipe of her thumb. "The witness woke up, Fin. Ready to go?", she asked, tucking her phone back in her pocket.

"Yeah…", he nodded and they turned to leave once again. "Good seeing you, Jaime", he gave me a wink before he followed his partner out who gave me a nod as she left.

"You too", I smiled and turned back to my mother's desk with a tired sigh as I lunged back in her chair.

Detective Amaro sat back down and returned to the incomplete paperwork on his desk, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"So Detective Amaro, where is my Mum?", I asked, looking around the precinct realising that no one told me where she is yet.

"She's with Cragen in his office", he pointed his thumb towards his Captain's office, not looking up from his paper work. "And you can call me Nick", he said, finally looking up.

I nodded and let out a yawn before I got up and helped myself to a coffee from the Coffee station.

"Your Mum let you drink that?", Amaro smirked as I sat back down at my mothers desk, as he twirled a pen in his fingers.

"Not really", I admitted taking a delicate sip from the mug, "She says I'm already too hyper for caffeine"

Amaro chuckled as my mother walked out of Captain Cragen's office. "Hey, Sweetie", she smiled down at me, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "How was school?"

"Same as always", I groaned, taking a long gulp from my mug.

I heard a phone ring and Amaro pulled his out of his pocket, "Hey, Maria", he smiled into the phone.

"Ready to go to lunch?", my Mum asked me.

"Yeah, my mother just called me. She's not going to be able to babysit Zara tonight... I know it's our anniversary but what do you want me to do?... Alright, cancel the reservations"

"Hey…", I poked him in the shoulder, getting an idea.

Amaro raised his eyebrow at me confused as he still held the phone to his ears, "Okay… I'll see you at home, bye", he said, hanging up the phone and looking down at me.

"I can babysit if you want", I offered, looking over at my mother then back at him.

"Can you?", he asked looking over at his partner, questioning her if I'm capable of taking care of a six year old.

"Yeah, I babysit all the time", I answered for myself, "even took care of Cragen's kids one time"

"And charged him double for it", Olivia chirped in.

"Because he's rich that's why. Have you seen his house?", I scoffed in defense looking over at Amaro, "And I also really needed the money to buy the new R200 Paintball gun"

Amaro gave me a look.

"I had the annual Paintball Tournament. Don't judge me", I gruffed causing him to smile. "So you want that babysitter or not?"

"If it's alright with you, Liv?", Amaro turned to my mother for approval.

"Do you have any homework?", Olivia asked in her motherly tone.

"I'll get it done before I leave, don't worry", I reassured her.

"Okay, but I warn you Nick, she might empty out your junk cabinet"

"I did that one time!", I pointed out and rolled my eyes as I got out of my mother's seat. "Can we just go before you embarrass me even more", I groaned, picking up my school bag from my feet.

My mum chuckled and nodded, "Alright, but we only have half an hour for lunch before I have to get back", she told me.

I sighed, annoyed that I'm only limited with my time with my mother like usual.

My mother picked up her coat and shrugged it on before getting her bag, "I'll drop Jaime over at yours around seven then Nick?"

"Perfect, I'll call Maria back", he grinned, pulling out his phone again to tell her the good news.

* * *

"Do you want me to come in with you?", my mum asked as she parked in front of her partners house.

"Bringing my mum with me doesn't make me look like a very professional babysitter does it?", I asked, as I grabbed my small army green cross body bag as I got out of the car and pulled it around me.

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Nick's going to drop you back off at home, I don't know how late I'll be"

I nodded, "Have fun on your date, Mum. Bye", I smiled as I turned and made my way towards the front door and knocked.

After a few mumbled calls and voices the door swung open, "Hey… you must be Jaime", a Hispanic woman spoke breathless like she's been running around as she pulled shimmering crystal earrings through her ears. Looks like their running late to their reservations.

"That's me", I smiled, turning back to my mother who was still parked outside, making sure I got safely inside. I gave her a nod and a wave as I turned back to Mrs Amaro.

"Come on in", she smiled through perfectly straight teeth.

I followed her in, closing the door behind me as she hurriedly pulled on some high black leather heels, leaning her hand on the bench top of their island in the middle of their kitchen for balance.

"Wow, you look beautiful, Mrs Amaro", I complimented as I took in her long straight dark hair and clear tanned skin. She wore a simple modest black dress which had short sleeves and a high neckline and stopped right below her knees. It was plain but tight so it hugged her body nicely.

"I like you already", she chuckled, finally putting on her heels and standing straight. "Call me Maria by the way"

I gave her a nod as she picked up a few things in the kitchen that were laying around and put them in the right places.

"Umm… so there's a lasagna in the oven for you and Zara for dinner, all you need to do is heat it up. She needs to have her teeth brushed and be in bed by eight-thirty", she said quickly, laying down the rules as she continued to clean up the kitchen. "She has no homework or choirs so she can do whatever she wants but she's not allowed to be on the TV for more then an hour"

I nodded at every rule, memorising them in my head.

"Oh, and there's tea", she said pointing her hand on the white ceramic canister on the kitchen top that read tea on it beside two others that read coffee and sugar, "… and there's biscuits and chips in the pantry. So help yourself when Zara goes to bed. She's already had enough snacks today"

Before I could give her another nod I saw Amaro enter the room in a dashing black suit and bow tie. "Hey…", he smiled, adjusting the bow on his neck.

"You clean up nice, Nicholas Amaro", I smirked, pronouncing his name in a Spanish accent.

He rose an eyebrow at me, realising I was teasing him, "I wear a suit to work, there's not much difference"

"Just take the compliment", I glared at him and he just shook his head, making his wife giggle.

"Where's Zara?", Maria asked him.

"She went to grab Alicia so she can show her new babysitter", he chuckled.

Before I can ask, a beautiful little girl with the mixture of both parents walked in the room with a shy look on her face as she stood slightly behind her father, holding a large doll in her hands. She had long dark hair and dark brown eyes with tanned skin like both her parents.

"Zara, baby…", Nick said softly as he bent down to his daughters level, "This is Jaime, she's going to look after you tonight"

"Hey, Zara…", I smiled friendly as I bent down on my knee to her height. "Is that the new Baby Born Doll?", I asked, acting excited.

Her face lit up at this as she stepped forward from behind her father holding the doll up happily, "her name is Alicia"

"Well, I think you, me and Alicia are going to have so much fun tonight", I grinned, getting her excited as she nodded and smiled up at her parents happily.

"I'm going to get my Princess colouring books!", she jumped excitedly as she ran off to her room.

I chuckled as I stood back up facing her parents, "She looks just like you, Maria. Fortunately"

Maria giggled and turned to her husband who rolled his eyes, "I really like her", she laughed, moving past him towards the door.

I followed them to the door as they pulled on their coats.

"Alright we'll leave you to it", Maria said as she opened the front door as they begun to walk out, "Oh, and both our numbers are on the fridge. Call us if you need anything, okay?"

I gave her a reassuring nod as they walked out, putting my hand on the door, "Don't worry Zara is in good hands. Have fun"

"Thanks", she smiled before turning and walking towards the car.

Nick turned and gave one last nod before he followed his wife.

I close the door and turned around seeing Zara placing colouring books and pencils on the coffee table in the living room.

"Ready to have some fun", I smiled, making the little girls eyes light up.

* * *

_**Writer's Note:**_

Just seeing how this goes, if your enjoying it please let me know and I'll keep going.

Rose x.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I was sitting cross legged as I scribbled in my black and white aztec journal when I heard mumbles and footsteps from outside. I sat up straighter, turning towards the door as the lock turned and the door was pushed open.

"Hey, guys", I greeted, putting my journal down on the coffee table as a smiling husband and wife walked through their front door.

"Hey, sorry we were a little late", Nick apologised, loosening and then removing his bow tie from his neck, discarding it on the kitchen counter.

"It's okay, babysitting is the only time my mum allows me to break my curfew", I replied as I stood up from the couch and packed the journal back in my bag.

"Zara asleep?", Maria asked, shrugging off her coat and hanging it by the door.

"Yeah, she knocked out as soon as her head hit the pillow. I think I tired her out", I chuckled.

"What did you both do?", she asked as she slipped out of her heels.

"Well, first we coloured in some princesses, then we built a fort and had a war... I won of course. The fort transformed into a tent soon after that and we played Go Fish inside with a torch", I answered with a smile. I actually had fun tonight with Zara. She's so energetic and cute.

"You built a fort?", Maria asked surprised.

"Affirmative. I'm an expert fort builder", I answered seriously with a nod.

Maria chuckled and shook her head, "I'm going to check on Zara", she said before leaving to her daughters room.

"So how much do I owe you?", Nick asked, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket.

"No, no", I said quickly, moving from around the couch towards him. "This was a favour"

"Nah, I insist", he mumbled, still fiddling with his wallet.

"I'm as stubborn as my mum, so don't bother."

"Fine", he groaned, "Come on, I'll take you home?", he gave up, walking back towards the door.

* * *

"Did Zara misbehave?", Nick asked as we got into the car.

"Not at all. She was polite and actually has manners unlike some kids I've taken care of", I trailed off in thought, remembering those five-year-old twin boys I took care of once. They didn't listen to a word I said and ran a muck around their whole house. I had to give them so many time outs but it didn't do much good. I think I grew a grey hair that day. Never again did I take another job from their parents.

Nick smiled at this, proud of his daughter as he pulled away from the curb.

"So hows it like having Olivia Benson as a partner?", I asked, making small talk.

"Hows it like having her as a mother?", he threw back the question, as he took a turn.

"I asked you first", I pressed with a smile.

Nick gave in as he looked over at me, "Well, she's smart, tough... definitely has more guts then half the guys back in narcotics"

"I'll bet. My mums badass", I grinned, proudly.

Nick chuckled, "You want to be like your mum when you finish school?"

"I don't know", I sighed, looking down at my hands. This is a subject I've thought a lot about. "I see what this job does to my mum. Even though she's good at hiding it, I know that some days she can't help but take her work home with her", I answered softly, finally looking up at Nick who was giving me a side glance before returning his eyes back to the road. "But then again, she drives me to want to help people like she does"

Nick nodded, "It's not an easy job"

"I know", I mumbled softly and I felt the car slow down as he pulled it to the curb.

"Thanks for the ride, Nicholas", I smirked, grabbing my bag and getting out of the car.

"It's Nick", he pressed, and seemed a little irritated when I used his full name.

"Ah ha", I teased, slamming the door shut.

He groaned as he spoke to me through the window, "Thanks for taking care of Zara tonight. You're a life saver, kid"

"Anytime, Detective", I saluted him and spun on my heel as I made my way towards the apartment building. He waited until I was safely inside until he drove off.

I made my way to the apartment and unlocked the door, finding the house dark and quite. I sighed as I pulled off my jacket and threw my keys on the kitchen counter. It was almost midnight and my mother still wasn't home. I went into my room and changed into plaid grey boxing shorts and an over sized shirt before getting into bed. I played around with my phone for a little, waiting for my mum to get home but she still wasn't back. I groaned after ten minutes and threw my phone on my bedside table before switching off my lamp and resting my head against my pillow.

* * *

"Jaime! You're going to be late for school!", I heard my mother yell before I felt a pillow being thrown at my head.

I groaned, getting ripped out of my dreamless sleep as I opened my eyes. The sun was shining through cloudy skies outside my window, fortunately the sun glare wasn't strong enough to make my eyes burn. My mother definitely pulled my blinds open again in attempt to get me out of bed. I just wanted to let my head fall back onto my pillow and sleep for another couple of minutes. But if I do I know my mother will say that my babysitting jobs on school nights are tiring me out, and then she won't let me do them anymore. I groaned again, pulling myself off the bed and dragging myself into the shower.

Ten minutes later I was all showered, in my school uniform and had my shoulder length chocolate hair in a tight braid. I grabbed my bag and walked into the kitchen, seeing my mother scramble a few eggs on the stove, her back towards me. I rose my eyebrow, "So you don't need to leave early today?", I perked up as I sat on the bar stool at the kitchen counter, dropping my bag on the floor happily.

Olivia shook her head, "We closed a case yesterday so I have no need to rush", she smiled as she turned around with the sizzling hot pan in her hand, scrapping the eggs into the two plates in front of me that have already been set. Just then the toaster popped out some toast and my mother quickly buttered them before plopping them into our plates and sitting beside me.

"What was the case?", I asked curiously seeing that I knew it has been stressing her out these past couple of weeks.

"You know I can't discuss cases with you", Olivia answered in that motherly warning tone of hers that I've heard so much before, as she took a sip from her coffee.

"I know", I grumbled, taking a bite from my fluffy eggs as I turned to my cup of juice. I pulled my hand out and grabbed my mothers mug, taking a long gulp from her coffee.

"Hey!", Olivia scolded taking her coffee off me. "What did I say about drinking coffee?"

"Come on, Mum. You drink like five cups of coffee a day. I don't see you dying from it", I argued.

"Jaime, you're sixteen. You don't need the extra energy", she said, giving me that signature motherly glare that's frightened me ever since I was little.

"Fine", I groaned, in defeat as I munched on my toast.

There was a silence between us as we ate, the small argument we had melting away as we just enjoyed each others company. It wasn't every day that we had the luxury of just sitting and eating breakfast together.

"So how was babysitting Zara last night?", Mum asked, turning to me slightly as she ate.

"It was...", I began to answer but was interrupted by my mothers ringing cellphone.

Olivia dropped her fork and retrieved her phone from her pocket, unlocking it with her thumb. "Benson...", she answered and there was a pause as I heard the barely audible mumblings of the person on the other end, "Okay, I'll be right there Nick. Bye", she hung up and slid off her stool. She leaned over her plate and poked her fork into the remaining pieces of eggs and plopped them in her mouth before putting her plate in the sink. "We just caught a case. I'm sorry honey, I got to go", she apologised.

"It's okay", I said, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice.

"You and Danny riding to school?", she asked as she quickly pulled on her coat.

I nodded as I played around with my remaining eggs with my fork.

"Okay, be careful", she said rushed as she got everything she needed in her bag for work. She then came towards me as I sat at the kitchen counter and placed her hand on the back of my head, getting me to look up at her, "How about we order Indian tonight and rent a movie, hmm?", she asked, trying to cheer me up.

I smiled with a nod, happy to have some time together. It's Friday and I had plans with Danny tonight but I'll cancel them. I've barely spent anytime with my mother lately and I've missed just hanging out and doing nothing together.

"Good, I'll see you tonight then", she smiled and pushed my head slightly forward with her hand that was still resting on the back of my head, and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Okay...", I nodded.

She gave me a smile and quickly pulled away, heading towards the door in a hurry as she slammed it close behind her.

I finished my breakfast and was washing up when I heard a familiar bell ringing from outside and my name being called. I placed the last plate in the dish rack and dried my wet hands on a tea towel before I rushed to the window, poking my head out. I saw Danny, my best friend on the sidewalk with his thumb on the bell on the handle of his bike waiting for me.

His short light brown hair blew slightly in the soft wind as his soft hazel eyes stared back at me. His Hispanic background has given him nicely tanned skin in comparison to my pale skin colour. Danny and I practically grew up together and he's the reason I know a lot of Spanish. My pronunciation has gotten better and better through out the years and now I'm pretty good at it. We've known each other since second grade. We both become best friends when we both rocked up at school at the beginning of the year with the same Batman lunchbox. We've been close ever since.

"Give me a sec", I yelled back seeing that we were on the second floor.

He nodded and I quickly closed the window and grabbed my bag. I slammed the front door shut behind me before jogging down the stairs to the bottom floor. I pulled my bike from the residents garage on the ground floor and met Danny outside.

"Hey, shorty", he greeted as he swung his leg over the bike, getting back on it.

"Hey, dweeb", I replied, getting on my bike as well as I pulled the strap of my messenger bag across my chest so it wouldn't fall while riding.

We didn't say another word as Danny swung his head and began to pedal with me following by his side.

* * *

It's been two weeks since I first babysat Zara for the Amaro's, and last night I did it again. And don't worry, I got paid this time. It was Friday again and thankfully the last day of school for the week. I couldn't wait for the weekend! My mother has been going through a very hectic, very public case where a fourteen year old orphan girl got raped at a charity event by some rich hotshot company owner. It's been very complicated and messy because this accused rapist is so loved and adored by the public. His name is Gregory Austin and he's a very rich man that's been very generous at a lot of fundraising events. My mother has been through a lot of stress this week, getting a lot of pressure from the press.

And the reason that I couldn't wait for this week and this case to be over is because every time there's a case that the public isn't happy about involving the NYPD and my mother, it isn't very easy for me at school. The kids at school just glare at me, whisper when I walk past, yell out side comments when they see me and so on. Let's just say I'm not the most popular person at school. Troy and I never really fit in with the rest of my classmates. We try to keep to ourselves, especially it times like this.

When I got to school, it was another day of taking the heat from my classmates and honestly my patience was wearing thin. They yell and taunt me like its my fault. Just because my mother is on the case doesn't mean I have any say in it. I ignored and held in the anger that was bubbling up inside and was so relieved when it was lunch time. Troy and I were pushing past the kids in the hall, trying to get outside as the lunch bell rang through the school. I suddenly felt something push hard into my shoulder and I stopped in my tracks turning around to who was responsible and wasn't surprised at who I saw.

"You're mother would do just about anything to make the NYPD look better", Lena Green grumbled as she turned to face me.

Lena Green.

I think its safe to say were enemies. We were actually best friends once. Troy, Lena and I got really close in fourth grade and we were best friends. We used to call ourselves 'The Triple Threat'. It was pretty lame but we found it cool back then. Everything was going good until the sixth grade when my mother had a case involving her uncle, who she adored. It was a very messy case but he was arrested for rape at the end of it and Lena never forgave me after that. She blamed my mother for putting him away and let her anger out on me. We had a big fight and ever since then we've been enemies. That's way she has so much hate towards my mother. She takes any opportunity she can to shame her. And this day wasn't any different.

"Go away, Lena", I grumbled, not having the energy or the patience to deal with her right now. I readjusted my bag on my shoulder that nearly got knocked off when she barged into me and began to turn and walk away.

"You'd think she'll learn not to jump to conclusions after the whole Jetson's accident", she yelled urging me into an argument, mentioning an old case where the NYPD got it wrong. A small crowd was beginning to surround us, clearly rooting for her to win.

I stopped and turned back to her, "She's doing her job now, just like she did then", I argued in a forced calm voice, taking a step forward angrily which made Troy take a step closer to me in caution.

Lena glared at me, "Just like she did her job years ago when she locked up my Uncle?", she spat out angrily.

"Oh, would you let that go!", I groaned, getting irritated with her always throwing that back at me.

"Let that go? Your mother took away one of the most important people in my life. Uncle Jason was like a father to me!", she yelled her voice cracking a little as she glared holes through my head, "But you wouldn't know what it feels to get that taken away from you because you never had a father, did you?", she spat out through venomous eyes.

My blood instantly spiked up to boiling point, my hands automatically clenched into fists at my sides.

How dare she talk about my father! She knows how much it hurts me that he died, and that I can barely remember him. I told her that my father died in a car accident when I was six years old when we became close in fourth grade. I never knew back then that she'd betray my friendship and throw it back in my face.

"Jaime...", I heard Troy's soft voice, warning me to calm down because he could see how angry I was.

"What nothing to say to that?", Lena pressed with a smile as she took a step towards me. "Just admit that even though your mother's a police officer, she's always done more harm than good."

Before I could even stop myself, I stepped forward and swung my fist.

* * *

A cellphone rang through the already loud precinct. People walked hurriedly around busy, some were talking urgently into their phones, and others were at their desk typing away on their computers. The cellphone rang again, making people look down at their phones just in case it was theirs.

Olivia quickly finished typing what she was doing into the computer and hurriedly picked up her phone, hoping it was a call she was waiting for that was important to the case.

"Benson... ", she said as she pulled her phone up to her ear. There was a pause as she listened to the unexpected caller, "She what!", she snapped, gripping her cell tighter. There was a longer pause as she listened to the person on the other end of the line, "Okay...", she sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration, "I'll be there as soon as I can", she shut her phone, dropping her hand tiredly.

"What?", her partner Amaro asked alerted, sitting across her at his desk, only having heard one side of the conversation.

"Jaime got in some trouble, they need me to go down to the school", she grumbled angrily, annoyed that her daughter has gotten herself in this situation and frustrated that she was so busy that she couldn't fathom having the time to deal with it.

Just then Fin walked into the precinct urgently, "Liv, Sarah Collins just woke up... and she's asking for you. She's terrified"

"I c..."

"Liv...", Nick cut her off, standing up from his desk, "How about I'll deal with Jaime and you go talk to Sarah. You've built a bond with her and we really need her to co-operate if we want to win this case", he said, already pulling on his jacket and grabbing his phone from his desk, shoveling it into his back pocket.

"No, Nick. I can't...", Olivia began.

"It's okay. I'll handle it", he gave her a reassuring look.

"You sure?", she asked, not feeling so great about the arrangement. She didn't want her partner to deal with her personal problems but she didn't really have a choice. Sarah Collins was a fourteen year old girl that has been through so much. She has no parents to help her through this horrible time in her life, and if she felt safe with Olivia after being severely abused then she will do anything to make her feel secure.

"Yes, now go", Nick urged her.

Olivia nodded as she pulled on her coat and turned towards the exit. "I'll call the school, tell them you're coming", she called over her shoulder before walking down the hallway, towards the elevator.

* * *

_**Writer's Note:**_

So there was chapter 2!  
Thank you to all who reviewed, followed and favoured. I'm glad you liked it so far. Please let me know if you enjoyed this chapter or what you would like to see happened next. By the way, I know a lot of you pointed out that I spelt Benson wrong... my bad! LOL, sorry for the fail.

Rose x.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I bounced my knee impatiently, clenching my hands into fist at my sides as I sat up straight in the chair outside the Principals door. My whole body was tense and my blood was still boiling inside with anger from my fight with Lena. Lena's mother was inside with Principal Walker and I could hear them mumbling through the thin walls but I couldn't make out what they were saying. The Principal called my mum but she still wasn't here yet and I was afraid she wasn't going to show at all because of work and I'll be stuck here waiting until the end of school. I knew that this case was taking up a lot of her time.

I heard faint heavy sounding footsteps walking friskily down that hall towards me but I didn't even bother looking up because I knew that they weren't my mothers footsteps. They were getting closer and closer but I zoned it out as I glared hard into the navy carpeted school floor, counting the little pieces of dirt I can find.

"Jaime!", I heard a familiar voice call in worry but I didn't even bother looking up because truthfully, I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to get out of here. I saw him kneel down in front of me in my line of vision, blocking my view of the carpet. I only counted up to eight pieces of dirt so far. "Are you okay?"

I finally looked into the concerned eyes of my mother's partner. He was looking at me with wide eyes as his eyes fell on my white blouse which was smudged with dry blood on the front. Then he looked me up and down, searching for any kind of damage looking for the source of the blood.

"It's not my blood...", I grumbled, dropping eye contact and turning to my right to Lena who was sitting in the chair on the other side of the Principals door. Her head was slightly leaning back as she nursed her bloody nose with a blue ice-pack. She had smudges of dry blood on her cheek and chin, and some that fell on the collar of her blouse. She looked like a mess which gave me a lot of satisfaction.

Nick turned to who I was looking at and his eyes went widen as they landed on Lena. I could see the realisation of what really happen click in his brain as he turned back to me with a different look in his eye. Instead of concern, he was now surprised and I knew I saw a hint of disappointment. Seeing his reaction, I instinctively looked away starting to feel ashamed because I couldn't keep my emotions under control. Though, I still don't regret clocking one into Lena's nose. I clenched my fists tighter as I thought about her and what she said.

Nick looked down at my right fist and saw that my knuckles were reddened and bruised pretty badly. They were also slightly scratched and little amounts of blood seeped through the wound. It was probably not the best idea to have punched a locker after Danny pulled me away from Lena. I guess it was better that I did the rest of the damage on the piece of metal rather then Lena's face because if I kept going, I would have broken her nose and that would have gotten me in even more trouble.

"Does it hurt?", Nick asked softly, pulling his hand out to examine my hand but I quickly pulled away, not wanting anyone to touch me. I just needed time alone to cool off because just being near Lena right now was putting me on edge. Nick looked up at me concerned, surprised by my reaction.

"Where's my mum?", I managed to mumble softly, not making any eye contact with the man. As childish as this sounds, I wanted my mother here with me. Even though she'll be furious because of what I did, I wanted her here because just her presence calms me at least a little. She always knows the right thing to say. And truthfully, I missed her. I've barely seen her all week and it actually hurt me a little inside knowing that she chose her job rather to be here with me. I know it sounds selfish because she's more needed out there and that she helps people who can't even help themselves. But I just really wanted her here.

"She's...", Nick began to answer but his phone began to ring, stopping him mid-sentence. He groaned, standing back up and quickly pulling out his phone, "Amaro... yeah, I just got here, Liv", he spoke into the phone as he looked down at me then he turned his back as he continued his conversation. I was too afraid of what she was saying to actually want to try and eavesdrop. "No... she's fine..."

Nick continued to speak to my mother on the phone, pacing slightly beside me when the door to the Principal's office opened, revealing a very unhappy Mrs Green, Lena's Mum. She was wearing very pristine and proper business attire. A long black tight-fitted pencil skirt that stopped below the knees with a cream buckle up blouse and a matching black blazer. She finished her outfit with very expensive looking leather heels and a pricey looking gold watch on her wrist. From what I heard, Lena's Mum works at a very big Insurance firm. She gave me an intense glare as she closed the door behind her, turning to her daughter.

"Come on, Lena. Let's go. You've already wasted enough of my time today", she ordered frustrated as she walked past her daughter, her heels thumping against the carpet as she walked down the hallway. She didn't even wait to see if her daughter was following her.

Lena groaned angrily, annoyed at the way her mother was treating her. She turned to me and scowled as she stood up, dropping the ice-pack from her nose. She narrowed her eyes at me and then at Nick who was still talking to Olivia on the phone, his back slightly turned to us. "Is that your mothers new partner?", she scoffed, her eyes burning with hate as she looked back at me. "Is he going to be your new daddy just like the last one?", she smirked, her eyes twinkling because she knew what she said will get under my skin.

Her words made me bubble up inside and before I could even stop myself I was lunging towards her, ready to pound another fist in her face. Maybe I'll actually break it this time.

"Woah... Woah!", Nick yelped, quickly hooking his arm around my stomach before I could get to her. "Liv, I'll call you back", he said rushed into his phone before hanging up.

"Knocking you out has taught you nothing has it!", I grumbled furiously through clenched teeth which just made her smile wider because she knew she got to me.

"Hey!", Nick snapped as he pulled me away from Lena, turning me around to face him. But I kept trying to pull away, my eyes boring into Lena's head. I just wanted to smack that smile right off her face. "Enough, sit down!", he ordered, forcefully pushing me back down into the chair.

His angered voice made me finally turn to him as I heard Lena chuckle and her footsteps as she turned on her heel and followed her mother outside.

"What has gotten into you?", he groaned annoyed and confused by my outburst.

I dropped eye contact and looked away, slightly embarrassed because he's seen me this way.

Thankfully, the Principal's door opened making him look up and divert his eyes away from me.

"Hi, I'm Principal Walker. You must me Olivia Benson's partner...", he trailed off, not knowing his name. I guess my mother called the school to tell them that she allowed him to pick me up.

"Detective Nick Amaro", he said professionally as he shook my Principals hand.

"Nice to meet you. Can I please talk to you in private? I know you must be busy but I need you to relay some things back to Mrs Benson", Walker said, moving to the side so Nick can enter his office.

"Sure...", he nodded his head and turned to me. He gave me look, telling me to stay put before following Mr Walker inside and closing the door behind him.

Great now their going to discuss me in there. I groaned for what felt like the millionth time today, putting my face in my hands in defeat.

* * *

I followed behind Nick through the precinct with my head low, not ready to be disciplined by my mother just yet. He asked me what happened as soon as we got in the car and I chose to ignore him since I didn't really have an answer. Not another word was said the rest of the ride back, so it was a pretty awkward eleven minutes. I took a deep breath, readying myself as Nick rounded the corner into the Special Victims Unit. I followed behind him and let out a sigh of relief when I didn't see my mother at her desk. Nick disappeared from sight and I collapsed on my mothers chair with a huff, dropping my school bag at my feet.

Looking down at my fist I winced from the pain. It seemed like it was getting worse by the second, looking more and more bruised. I really shouldn't have punched the locker. I don't tend to think straight when I'm angry. If I can't even control my emotions now, then how can I be anything like my mother who stops herself from strangling the evil people that she arrests everyday. She talks professionally, face to face with murderers, rapists, child abusers and so on, and she has the power to resist from wanting to hurt them like they hurt others. I don't know if I can ever do that.

"Here...", Nick's voice interrupted my thoughts as he stood over me, throwing something on my mothers desk with a thud. "For the swelling", he mumbled, before walking over to his desk and dropping into his chair.

I looked down seeing an icy blue ice-pack sitting on my mothers desk. I looked up at Nick, his eyes still on me. I could tell he was trying to read me, trying to figure out what happened but I looked away as I picked up the ice-pack and placed it on my knuckles, the cold cooling down my injured hand. "Thanks...", I mumbled, refusing to look back into his eyes.

Just then I heard familiar footsteps and I turned to the entry where my mother walked into the precinct with a young looking girl who looked absolutely terrified. She had bruises and scratches all over her face and her right arm was plastered and in a sling. My mother made eye contact with me, giving me that knowing threatening look as she walked the girl down the hall.

She placed on the small of the girls back as she guided her to an interview room, "Alright, Sarah. I just need you to take a seat here and my partner and I will be back to take your statement. Okay?", she said very softly so she wouldn't frighten the already fragile looking girl.

Sarah gave Olivia a small nod, fear clearly stricken on her face before taking a seat. My mother gave her an encouraging smile before closing the interview room door and walking over to me.

"You okay?", she asked worried but clearly angry as she looked down at the ice-pack on my hand.

"Yeah...", I mumbled out so softly it was almost a whisper. I stood up from my seat, facing her, "Mum, I'm s..."

"No...", she stopped me, raising her hand. "I don't need you to apologise when I know you don't mean it", she said, clearly frustrated as she ran a hand through her hair.

I could tell she was really stressed and instantly felt guilty. The precinct was still loudly buzzing with commotion. My mother had already had a lot on her plate and I wasn't helping. I didn't know what to say as she looked over at her partner then back at me.

"What were you thinking?", she raised her voice slightly, gaining the attention of a few officers that were close making me instantly go red.

"Liv...", Nick called out in warning, giving her a look telling her to deal with it privately.

Olivia sighed, turning back to me. "Jaime, go to the bunkers. I need to talk to Nick", she waved her hand towards the door.

"But..."

"Now", Olivia snapped.

I groaned, and threw my ice-pack on the table before storming it towards the bunkers.

* * *

Olivia dropped her head and sighed before looking back up at her partner, "What happened?"

"She got in a fight...", Nick answered, stepping around his desk to face Olivia. "The Principal told me her classmates said that Jaime was arguing with one of her classmates and punched her"

"Lena Green?", Olivia asked, already knowing the answer because the teenager always seems to be on the end of her daughters problems at school.

"Yeah", Nick nodded, "Jaime's friend pulled her away from Lena and then she punched a locker"

"She punched a locker?", Olivia asked shocked.

Nick nodded regrettably, "She got a weeks suspension"

Olivia nodded with a groaned, rubbing her forehead trying to rid the headache that was starting to peek. "I thought I was past this...", she mumbled more to herself then to her partner.

"Past what?", he asked confused.

Olivia let out a heavy breath as she looked up at her partner, "After Jaime's father died, she changed. She was just a kid and she didn't understand why her father wasn't around anymore. She began to scream and snap about the littlest things, and started getting into fights with other kids. I got her to talk to a therapist and he said that getting her into a hobby would help her get rid of her anger. We tried a lot of things and she stuck to kid karate classes. She did that for a while but when she got older karate turned into boxing, then boxing turned into kick-boxing and now she does Muay Thai. She's always training and I guess I didn't do anything about it because it was helping her deal with her emotions, but now I see the impact. She almost broke that girls nose", Olivia shook her head guiltily.

"It's not your fault, Liv. She's a teenager. They make mistakes. It's in their nature", Nick said softly trying to make his partner feel better.

Olivia shook her head in disagreement. She inhaled a deep breath and let it go. She turned to the interview room where Sarah was waiting, "Come on, let's get back to work", she said back in serious mode as she turned towards the interview room with her partner in toe.

* * *

I looked down at my injured hand as I clenched and unclenched it slowly, testing how bad it hurt. And the result was it was pretty bad. I could barely tightened my fist all the way without it seriously aching. My knuckles were really bruised. I guess I won't be able to go training with Danny until it heals because there's no way I can hit a punching bag when it's like this. But then again, I'm definitely grounded for this so I won't be going anywhere.

I groaned as the realisation hit me that my mother is going to issue out a punishment. Her punishments are never fun. I was sitting on one of the bunkers near the far wall, as I bounced my knee impatiently. After what felt like forever, my mother finally came through the door, closing it behind her. I didn't say anything as she walked over to me and sat beside me.

"Tell me what happened?", she asked firmly wanting an explanation.

"Lena happened", I grumbled, still looking down at my injured hand.

"That's not a good enough explanation."

"Well, what do you want me to say? We fought, I punched her", I grumbled.

"What did she say to make you so angry?", Mum asked, her voice going a little softer.

"Why does it matter?", I spat out, finally turning to her.

"Of course it matters, Jaime. She clearly said something that hurt you enough to hit her"

I groaned, shaking my head as I looked away. I wasn't going to get into the details. I'm not going to tell her that Lena was practically calling her a crappy detective, that she said that she does more harm than good. Or that Lena mentioned my deceased father, which is a subject which always puts me edge. And I'm definitely not telling her that this whole argument with Lena started because of the current case she's working on. I know if my mum knew that kids give me trouble at school when there's a case at SVU that the public isn't happy about, than she'll feel guilty and she doesn't need any more pressure on her shoulders. She already deals with enough stress from work. I don't want to add more to the pile.

All my life I've grown up seeing my mother go to work everyday and come back every night. I've seen her return home with smiles or come back with hidden frowns. I've seen her achievements of putting horrible people behind bars on the news. These people have hurt, scarred, tortured and ripped innocent peoples lives apart. They've brought so much darkness into the world and it's my mothers job to catch these people and put them away. It's her job to help the ones who have gotten hurt, and to keep the rest of the world safe.

I know my mother's job is important and I've learnt to sacrifice myself for it. I've learnt to be independent, to keep my problems to myself because she doesn't need that extra worry. I know my mother loves me and I know shes very overprotective because she sees the real darkness out there. She has seen between the cracks, she has seen what people can do to other people. I just want her to play her part, do her job without any of my petty distractions.

"Tell me", my mother egged on softly, getting impatient because I was silent for nearly a whole minute, deep in thought.

"It was just a stupid argument, Mum", I huffed, standing up from the bed, the rusty metal squeaking from my movement.

My mother looked at me, the way she does when she's reading me and knows I'm lying. She dropped her gaze and sighed, knowing that I was as stubborn as her, and that even the detective in her couldn't get me to talk. The bed squeaked again as she got up and she put out her hand, palm facing up, "Phone", she ordered.

I grumbled annoyed as I reluctantly pulled out my iPhone from my pocket, slamming it a little too harshly in my mothers open palm.

"You're suspended for a week, so you're grounded for a week. And don't think I'm leaving you home alone when I go to work. I guess it's going to be 'bring your daughter to work week'. You'll be catching up on the school work your missing, either in this bunker or at my desk. Understood?", Olivia said firmly, with no room for arguments.

I nodded, not even bothering to fight back since I knew I wouldn't get very far. This is going to be one hell of a week. Grounded for a week! When you get grounded by Olivia Benson, it isn't fun. She confiscates every source of entertain in the house. She makes me give her my phone, my laptop, my iPod, and doesn't let me watch TV at all. If she's not home she'll even take a cord from the back of the TV so it doesn't work and I can't sneak on it when she's gone. She's hardcore to say the least. She doesn't even let me sleep in on weekends when I'm grounded. She'll wake me up at about seven in the morning and gives me chores, which I'm assuming she'll be doing everyday for a week since I'm suspended.

In conclusion, having a Detective as a mother isn't fun when you get in trouble.

* * *

_**Writer's Note:**_

Hope you enjoyed that chapter!

And thanks for the requests, I already have some ideas so I'll see what I can do ;)

Rose x.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Writer's Note:**_

_Hey! I know that a lot of you have said that Olivia doesn't seem like a very good mum and that she chooses her job over Jaime, but you have to remember that Jaime is a sixteen year old teenager. She doesn't need that constant attention like a child would need. Jaime has learnt to become very independent, and her mother knows she's very mature compared to teenagers her age. Olivia's job does keep her busy a lot but that's the life of a detective. And it's kind of Olivia and Jaime's everyday routine to go to school, work, and have busy schedules, etc._

_If you still disagree then... meh._

* * *

**Chapter 4**

My eyes shot open as I heard a screech as my blinds were forced open.

"Time to get up", I heard my mothers voice order firmly as she whacked my exposed leg which somehow got uncovered during the night.

"Ghmmm", I murmured, still half asleep as I pulled my blanket over my head, trying to hide from the bright sun shining through my now open blinds.

"Jaime, up!", Olivia ordered me again as I felt a tug at my blanket and before I could react the warmth of my blanket was ripped off me, leaving my bare skin exposed to the morning chill.

"Mum!", I yelled in fury, my voice cracking from dryness and muffled by my pillow. I was laying on my stomach and my head shot up in anger as my dark hair flopped down in a mess, covering half my face. My eyes dared to crack open but quickly closed again, burning from the sunlight pouring into my room. But they quickly shot open again as they got a glimpse of the blinking red lights on my alarm clock. "It's six-thirty in the morning!", I screamed in fury, and then another realisation hit me, "On a Saturday!", I grumbled as I crumbled into a ball, hugging my knees as I tried get the warmth back to my body.

"Well, you should have thought twice before punching somebody. Now up you get", Olivia said, leaning over me bed with her hands on her hips. She meant business.

"The bitch deserved it", I groaned under my breath, annoyed at the wake up call as I turned so my back was to my mother as my eyes began to flutter close again.

"Language!", she yelled, getting angrier as she whacked leg again but I didn't move, "That's it", I heard my mother mumble to herself before I heard retreating footsteps.

She sounded like she was going to do something... but I was already half asleep to comprehend the danger.

The muscles in my body relaxed as I began to fall back into blackness. I barely felt the slight tug of my shirt before I yelped in horror from the sudden ice cold sensation sliding down my back. I shot up from my bed, dangerously close to the edge and before I could react, I went tumbling to the floor. "MUM!", I roared in fury as I pulled at the back of my navy tight-fitted shirt, trying to remove the icy culprit. I kept thrashing around until I heard the slight thuds of three ice-cubes finally escaping my now wet shirt and landing on the ground. I groaned breathless as I looked up at my very chirpy looking mother.

"Now that you're up, you can finish the dishes that you left last night", Olivia grinned, satisfied as she crossed her arms.

"This is not funny!", I grumbled as I run my fingers through my hair, combing back the strands that fell on my face during the brutal fight I had with the ice-cubes.

"I disagree. You weren't the one to see you thrash around like a fish out of water", Olivia chuckled before turning on her heel and leaving me in a heap on the floor.

I grumbled as I picked up the still melting ice-cubes from my now damp charcoal carpet and followed my mother into the kitchen as she put a pan on the stove and buttered some bread. I didn't say a word as I discarded the ice-cubes in the sink and turned on the hot water, beginning to scrub clean the few dishes that were there. I felt goosebumps cover my bare skin from the slight chill in the air and from the slight dampness of the back of my shirt, but I ignored it wanting to get the dishes done quickly so I can retreat to a nice steaming hot shower. There was silence between my mother and I. The swooshing of the water, the scrubbing of glass, the sizzle of cold butter on a hotplate, all the noises seemed as though they were getting louder in our prolonged silence.

Olivia flipped the last of the grilled cheese sandwich and shoveled it into a plate, setting two plates filled with two sandwiches each on the kitchen island. She placed the hot pan in the sink and I quickly washed it, placing it in the rack as I turned off the tap.

"I have to go to work and finish off some paperwork from the case. It'll only take an hour or two", my mother told me, breaking the silence as she turned to the coffee pot, pulling out a mug from the cabinet and filling it up with steaming hot black liquid.

I let out a breath of relief, satisfied. Paperwork usually meant that a case was closed, and I was happy that I won't have to worry about more drama from this public case when I return back to school. "Okay", I mumbled with a nod as I began to head towards the bathroom, leaving my poor grilled cheese behind for the moment.

"You're coming with me, be ready in ten", Olivia mumbled as she took a delicate sip from her coffee before placing it near her plate as she sat down on the stool at the kitchen bench.

I groaned as I turned back to face her, "Oh, come on Mum! I don't need to be babysat."

The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck in the precinct, bored out of my brains without a phone or any other source of technology. All I wanted to do is snuggle up back into the warmth of my bed and doze back to nothingness.

"Don't argue, just go get ready", she mumbled nonchalant, not even bothering to face me as she took a bite out of her grilled-sandwich with one hand and scrolled through an article on her phone in the other.

I grumbled profanities under my breath as I stomped my way towards the bathroom.

* * *

It was seven am when my mother and I arrived at the precinct. The place wasn't as noisy as it usually was. The people working looked a little more relaxed then when I saw them yesterday when there was a sense of urgency from the case. Now that it was closed, a little bit of peace returned to the place but it was sure to pick up speed again when the next brutal thing happens in this city. The precinct was a little empty, people rushing into the place looking like they've just woken up with their steaming cups of takeaway coffee in their hands.

I pulled back my hood, my previous wet hair that I moussed after I showered now dried down to a slight wave, stopping just above my shoulders. I reached into the pocket of my jeans and groaned as I forgot my phone wasn't there, it was confiscated. Great! This is going to be an awesome week.

I saw Fin look up from his desk as my mother and I walked in, "Hey, Liv", he greeted as he turned to me with a raised brow, "Jaime...", he gave me a questioning look and a nod. Before he could say anything else Cragen came out of his office, his eyes in search from someone.

"Liv...", he called, as he raised his hand motioning my mother over before returning to his office.

"Coming, Capt", my mother said before turning to me and giving me a firm look, "I don't want to see you move from my desk", she pointed to her desk as I reluctantly turned and slumped down in her chair. "Do your school work, and don't even think about touching the computer", she warned before turning on her heel and following Cragen into his office, closing the door behind them.

"It only means one thing if you're here this early on a Saturday morning", I heard Fin's voice call from across the room. I looked up from the laptop on my mothers desk, desperately wanting to open it and play some games or watch viral YouTube videos to make the time go faster. "So what'd you do?", Fin smirked, crossing his arms as he waited for an answer.

"Got suspended from school", I mumbled, unhappily turning away from him.

"For what?", he asked curious, sitting up straighter in his chair as he dropped the pen in his hands, gaining his full attention.

"Nearly broke a girls nose", I groaned, seeing Fin get up from his desk from the side of my eye as he made his way over to me.

"Woah, you must have a mean right hook then, Jay-Jay", he teased as he threw some fake hooks, hitting his knuckles softly into my chin trying to make me smile.

"Stop!", I pushed his hands away.

"Come on, kid. Show me what you got!", he egged me on.

"Fin!", I broke, releasing a chuckle as I kept pushing his hands away. "Alright, Papi! Let's go!", I grinned, jumping up from my chair with my fisted hands raised up to my chin, ready to fight.

Fin smiled and grew serious as he threw a slow motion punch and I ducked and uppercut him in the stomach at the same speed. Fin faked being hurt as he swung his fist around, colliding it softly into my jaw.

"What are you two doing?", I heard a confused voice from behind and we both froze, turning to Nick who just walked into the precinct. He looked like he just rolled out of bed even though his perfectly combed hair said otherwise. He didn't even move to his desk as he stared at us, waiting for an answer.

Fin and I turned back to one another with guilty childish looks on our faces and before we could answer I heard a door open.

"Jaime!", I heard my mother call not too loud to interrupt the people in the precinct. I turned to her, seeing her in Cragen's doorway as she raised a finger at me, "Butt-down", she motioned to the chair at her desk that I was just sitting on.

My cheeks went slightly red as I sat back down, being yelled at by your mum in front of her co-workers was kind of embarrassing.

"Fin, we need you", Olivia called him over before disappearing back into Cragen's office.

Fin looked back to me giving me an apologetic look, feeling guilty for getting me in trouble before he turned and followed Olivia into his Captain's office.

I heard Nick chuckle as he walked over to the fridge beside the small kitchen area near the end of the room. He pulled out a can of some energy drink that I've seen in his hands more than a few times, and walked over to his desk collapsing into his chair before opening it. "I see you're mother isn't over you getting suspended...", he mumbled after taking a long gulp from his drink.

"Oh!", I faked shock, "You must be a really observant detective if you managed to pick that up, Nicholas", I grinned, the sarcasm dripping from my mouth.

Nick put his can on his desk and gave me a look that I couldn't read, "You sound like you're mother", he chuckled as he shook his head, picking up his energy drink again.

I glared at him, realising he was teasing, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should", he mumbled into his can as he pulled it back, swallowing down the last remnants of his drink before throwing it into the small bin near his desk.

I held in a smile as I reached down for my school bag that I brought with me and reluctantly pulled out my math textbook and workbook. The heavy textbook thudded on against the desk, making Nick look up from the paperwork he was starting on.

"You're doing homework?", he asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, there's no such thing as the privilege of no homework on weekends when you're grounded in the Benson household", I answered in a flat tone as I flipped open my textbook, seeing so many number and letters built up into equations that I was already beginning to form a headache.

"Should have thought twice before you...", Nick began.

"Don't say it", I quickly interrupted him with a point of my finger.

Nick just smirked in return before dropping his gaze back onto the document on his desk.

I began a new page in my book and copied down the first math equation. I rubbed my head in frustration. It was too early for this. I needed sleep. I barely got any last night, my head was working on overtime and wouldn't let me get any rest. It kept replying my day over and over again in my head, and the words Lena said were repeating like a broken record. I think my body's exhaustion gave in some time in the early morning and I probably managed to get two or three hours sleep at most. I continued to massage my forehead, trying to force myself to focus on the first question. It was algebra. I hate algebra!

"Ugh, I'm going to need some coffee", I groaned under my breath as I turned to Cragen's office. I could see my mother's and Fin's backs as they sat across Cragen's desk talking and passing around files. I looked up at Nick across from me, "I never left this chair", I whispered to him and he quickly finished what he was writing and his eyes slowly looked up at me.

"Hmm?"

I pushed my chair back from underneath the desk and quickly went over to the coffee station. I poured some beautifully smelling caffeinated black liquid from the coffee pot into a slightly chipped plain white mug. Then carefully strode it back towards my mothers desk, looking like an idiot as I tried to not let any liquid escape on the way. I sighed as I sat down with a large successful grin on my face, taking a careful sip from the steaming mug.

Nick scoffed, "Real stealthy", he mocked me as he shook his head and returned to his work.

"Bien está lo que bien acaba", I spat back in Spanish which made Nick look up from his work with a surprised expression on his face and a raised brow, "That's right, you're not the only one that's bilingual here, buddy", I smirked.

Nick was speechless and before he could manage a response, my mother and Fin left Captain Cragen's office with bundles of papers in their hands. My mother walked over to me, rubbing her forehead slightly in frustration.

"Looks like we'll be here longer than just an hour or two", Olivia said tiredly as she placed the paperwork on her desk.

Awesome.


	5. Something

_**Author's Note:**_

Okay, I don't usually do this. You know make random authors notes in a whole new chapter, but most of my reviews are guest members so I can't reply to them.

I received these comments in my last chapter:

_JJ said:  
Okay I'm sorry, but she hit her daughter, and put ice cubes on her back? That's abusive, and maybe she has a busy job, but being a mother should come first even if her daughter is sixteen. I just hope that when Jamie was younger Olivia was there for her daughter more..._

AND

_SVU said:  
Ice cubes on her back is pretty cruel/borderline abusive._

Please say you guys are being sarcastic because that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You think when I wrote that Olivia poured ice-cubes down her daughters back to wake her up or when she nudged her leg, that it makes her an abusive parent? You must have serious problems then. It was a joke! Doesn't your mother ever nudge you or whack your leg to wake you up for school in the morning? Next you're going to tell me Olivia can't hold her daughters hand because it's abusive. Far out, my brothers, my sister and I used to always prank each other. We would throw ice down each others clothes, and sometimes we even used to launch it at each others head.

_Why so serious?_

I'm sorry if it seems as though I'm ranting but I'm getting a lot of negative reviews in this story and I'm seriously considering sacking it all together.

I'm I wrong or?


	6. Chapter 5

_**Writer's Note:**_

_G'day mate!_

_I know it took me a while to post this next chapter but I've been really busy lately, so sorry for that. I also want to thank everyone that reviewed, urging me to keep going with this story after my little rant. I'm sorry for that, I was just very frustrated. But thanks again guys, you're all awesome!_

_Anyways... along with the story._

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Being grounded and suspended makes your week go very slowly! I was forced to wake up at early hours in the morning, then my mother dragged me down to the precinct with her. I was stuck there doing the school work I'm missing while drinking numerous cups of coffee, hiding them from my mother. And if I'm not doing that I'm bored out of my brains in the bunkers, either napping or bouncing a tennis ball repeatedly against the dull cement walls.

But it was Friday at last!

The last day of my suspension, and the last day of being grounded.

My eyes slowly fluttered open landing on the alarm clock on my small black bedside table. They were about to flutter back closed when I realized what time it was. My eyes shot back open, looking at the red lights that read 10:17 am. I was confused. My mother should have dragged my ass out of bed about three hours ago.

Maybe my mum over slept… no, she never does that. I pulled my blanket off me and pulled on my comfy over sized grey hoodie over my boxers and tee, the jumper reaching my knees as I left my room. I was about to check if she was still in bed when I saw her sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

"Mum?", I called her name in a questioning tone since I didn't understand why she was sitting at home in her pajamas rather than at work.

Olivia put her mug down, turned to me and grinned. "You're finally up", she said a little too chirpy.

"Why aren't you at work?", I asked totally confused.

"Well, we finally closed the case yesterday and I convinced Cragen to give me the day off", she smiled, happily. "And I know this is the last day that you're grounded but I really think you've learnt your lesson", she said, having a very mischievous look on her face. I rose my eyebrow in question, totally confused.

"What's the catch?", I asked, skeptical that she'll let me off for no reason.

Olivia jumped up from her chair, disappeared to her room and came back holding a box.

"No you didn't!", I yelled, a smile automatically plastering on my face.

"It was on sale and I thought: what better way to spend the next three days", Olivia smiled, placing the complete series of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. box set on the kitchen counter.

"I like the way you think, Detective Benson", I grinned as I delicately tore open the plastic off the box set.

Olivia chuckled then her face grew serious making me stop what I'm doing and turn to her, "Jaime, I know that I've been really busy lately because of work, and we haven't had a lot of time together", she said in a regrettable soft tone as her soft brown irises looked into mine, "It's just been really hectic since Elliot left and I guess I'm just throwing myself into my job to distract me from that", she said, a hurt expression on her face as she placed her hand on my arm as she bent down slightly so we were at eye level, "I haven't been making enough effort to make time for those girls nights we used to have, just you and me. I'm sorry"

"Mum...", I breathed out as I placed my hand on top of hers, giving it a little squeeze. "What you do is important, you don't need to apologise. I'm not a little girl anymore. You don't always have to make time for me. I'd rather have you out there helping people", I confessed truthfully, letting her know that I've sacrificed my mother for the betterment of the world.

"You think I have to make time for you?", she scoffed, "I _need _to. Seeing you everyday is the only thing that keeps me sane", she smiled lovingly, "I never would have survived SVU for this long if it wasn't for you", she said serious.

And by the look on her face, I didn't doubt her words one bit but I had the urge to challenge them. "Come on, Mum. You're badass all by yourself", I smirked.

Mum rolled her eyes and chuckled before she placed her hand on the back of my neck, pulled me forward and gave me a kiss on my forehead, "You make me badass", she grinned.

I smiled, never feeling safer then with my mother. She was my rock. She always made every one of my worries disappear. And even though I yearn for the father that I never got to have, sometimes in times like these I tell myself, 'she's enough'.

Olivia dropped her hand, "Now, how about we get some breakfast, grab some snacks from the store and come back and start on season one?", she suggested with a contagious grin.

I nodded, grinning in agreement as I piled up all the individual DVD boxes for each season of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on the kitchen counter, "I'll go get dress!"

* * *

The next three days were awesome. My mum and I would go out during the day. We went to the park, went movies, went shopping and some other fun places. And at night, we were watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode after episode. We consumed loads of takeout food, chips, chocolate and don't forget the ice-cream.

So now it was six pm on Sunday night and the sun was starting to set. I asked my mum if Danny could come over because I haven't seen him all week and she said yes so he should be here soon. I missed him so much. It was weird going a whole week without talking to my best friend. My mother confiscated my phone, so I couldn't even do that. Luckily, she gave me my beloved phone back on Friday so I've at least caught up with Danny a little. A small part of me even missed school. Being cooped up in the house and in the precinct during the week made me miss hanging out with Danny at school. The only thing that made me really not want to go back to school tomorrow was Lena. I really don't want to deal with her.

"So, Mum. What are we having tonight?", I asked, standing in front of the fridge door with my hands on my hips as I looked through the takeout menus we magnetized to the fridge door.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Whatever you feel like, hun", mum replied as she walked past me to the front door.

"Hi, Ms. Benson", Danny grinned in the doorway, holding a plastic shopping bag in his hand.

"Hey, Danny", Olivia smiled as she stepped to the side, welcoming him in, "And I've told you countless times, just call me Olivia", she grumbled with a smile.

"Well, I respect you too much for that, Detective", he smirked as he walked inside.

"Danny!", I grinned as I saw him and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Hey, shrimp. I see you missed me", he chuckled, squeezing me tightly before releasing me.

"Don't act like you didn't have the worst week at school without me", I teased as we pulled away.

"You're not wrong there", he grumbled honestly.

"So what have you got for the Benson ladies?", I asked, eyeing the plastic bag that he still held in his hands.

"Oh, I came prepared", he winked as he hopped on the bar stool and placed the plastic bag on the kitchen top as he begun to unpack it. "I got the biggest bag of peanut M&amp;M's I could find", he said as he pulled out the big yellow bag, "Your favourite cookie dough ice-cream", he nodded at me as he thud the bucket on the counter, "Red Vines and salt and vinegar chippies", he grinned proudly as he put the rest of the fattening food on the bench.

"You did good, grasshopper", I grinned, giving him a pat on the head which he quickly whacked away.

"Danny we're going to order takeout. What do you feel like?", Mum asked as she walked over the fridge, looking over the menus.

"Whatever you're getting, Ms. B", he answered.

"Hmm...", I mumbled as I popped up on the stool beside Danny, "I'm feeling like Thai", I said, looking between Danny and my Mum.

"I can do with some curry puffs", Danny nodded in agreement.

"Thai it is", Olivia said picking up the cordless phone from its spot on the end of the kitchen counter. "What do you want?"

"My usual", I told her feeling like my usual of Hokkien noodles with stir-fried chicken and vegetables.

"Danny?", Olivia asked, turning to him still gripping the phone in her hand.

"Uhh... just my usual too then", he nodded as he picked up the ice-cream he brought and put it in the freezer.

I grinned with a slight shake of my head, realising just how much Danny was part of the furniture here in the Benson household.

My mother nodded and dialed in the number for the Thai restaurant into the phone before pulling it up to her ears. She began giving them our order and address as Danny and I grabbed the snacks he brought and plopped down on the couches in the living room.

Danny peeled open the packet of Red Vines as I pulled out the next F.R.I.E.N.D.S. CD from its case and put it in the DVD player. I grabbed the remote and lounged back on the couch beside him.

"We just finished season two, and now we're on to season three", I told him as my mother walked over and sat beside me, leaning over me to grab a Red Vine from Danny. "All good?", I asked my mum, my finger hovering over the play button on the remote.

"They said they'll be twenty minutes", mum mumbled as she chewed on the sweet licorice.

"Then we shall continue", I yelled, throwing my fist excitingly into the air before pressing play and relaxing back on the cushions.

"Dweeb", Danny mumbled as he plopped bundle of colourful peanut M&amp;M's into his mouth, his eyes locked on the TV as the opening scene began to play.

"Douche", I rebutted.

"Language!", Mum scolded, turning to both of us.

"Sorry", we both mumbled in unison.

* * *

Monday morning came and Danny and I were riding our bikes smoothly through the streets on our way to school.

It was freezing cold, I had the thickest thermal black stockings under my school skirt, a long sleeve shirt under my white blouse and my leather grey fleece hoodie on top. My black beanie was on, leaving my wavy hair out to warm my neck and I pulled my hood on top which seemed to warm me up.

The cold wind was blowing in my face as I rode on my bike, causing my nose to ice up. Danny and I finally got to school and we locked down our bikes before walking through the entry.

"It's freezing!", I mumbled, blowing into my palms and rubbing them together, trying to get some warmth back into them.

"No shit, Sherlock", Danny groaned, zipping his hoodie up tighter as he dug his hands into his pockets.

"Hey, wanna hit Billy's after school?", I asked him as we walked through the buzzing school hall towards our lockers.

'Billy's Ring' is the Muay Thai gym that Danny and I go to. We both stopped at our lockers, a small gap between the two as we unlocked them, quickly shoving our heavy school bags inside.

"Yeah...", Danny nodded with a grin as he grabbed out his math exercise book and textbook, "You've been grounded for a week so you need the workout".

I nodded in agreement, "I think I put on ten kilos alone from the amount of junk my mum and I consumed this weekend", I grumbled in regret as we both shrugged off our jackets and shoved them into our lockers, before they get confiscated because they're not uniform.

Yeah, private schools have suckish rules.

Danny and I grabbed our things and we were making our way to our roll call room when I felt something thud into my shoulder, making my books tumble in a heap to the ground.

"Sorry, didn't see you there", Lena smirked, holding her own books tightly in her hands.

My blood instantly boiled by the sinister expression on Lena's face. I took a step forward about to open my mouth to spit out a very pissed out remark when I felt Danny's hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"Walk away, Lena", he hissed through clenched teeth as he glared at her, his hand still on me.

Lena's face didn't falter, her grin just grew wider as she cocked her head to the side and batted her eyelashes, "Anything for you, Daniel", she spoke in a smooth velvety voice, turning back to me and giving me one last smirk before she walked away.

Ugh, she gets under my skin.

I shook my head. I needed to keep my calm around her. I can not afford another suspension. I don't think my mother would be so forgiving again if I threw another punch into Lena's deserving face. Taking a deep breath in and then out, I tried to forget this little incident as I bent down and picked up my books from the floor.

Danny bent down beside me, helping me out but quickly stopped him, "I could have handled Lena", I grumbled before picking everything up and standing back up.

"Maybe, but I wasn't going to take that chance, Firecracker", he smirked, trying to break the tension and put a smile on my face.

Danny had a tendency to call me many names. Dweeb, Shrimp and Firecracker were just the wee few.

I rolled my eyes, "We're definitely going Billy's tonight", I groaned, having the urge to punch something.

* * *

"All right, now I want you to jab straight twice, hook left, uppercut, uppercut, grab, knee left, knee right, step back and high right kick", Dawson, my trainer instructed as he stood behind the punching bag, holding it so it wouldn't move too much when I hit it.

I gave him a nod, my fists raised to my chin as sweat trickled down my nose. I took a deep breath in from my nose and let it out through my mouth, trying to calm down my rapid heart that was beating heavily from the workout.

_Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, grab, thud, thud, BANG!_

"Good!", Dawson encouraged, "One...", he counted, getting me to do the routine again. "Two... Three..."

My heart was beating so fast, as I blew out a forceful breath with every punch for extra momentum like Dawson taught me. I kept doing the routine until he counted to ten and by then my arms and legs were aching. They felt like jelly and I just wanted to collapse into a heap on the ground.

"I think that's enough for now. Good job", Dawson said as he let go of the punching bag.

Dawson was my favourite to train with here. He's probably in his late twenties with a shaved head and heavily scruffy beard and hazel eyes. He's from Samoa so he has a nice caramel skin colour. And every time I see him in the gym he's wearing shirts with the Samoan flag on them or with Samoan tribal drawings. He's very serious when we train, and he pushes me to the limit. He's always encouraging me to keep going and when I complain at the end of our session about wanting to collapse on the floor he says, 'If you've really worked hard enough, then at the end you should feel like you've been hit by a truck'. And when I say that I do. He says, 'No, you only look like you've been hit by a bicycle'. That's when I roll my eyes, and usually flip him off.

"T-Thanks, Awesome Dawson", I huffed out breathless, wiping away the driblet of sweat that was tickling my nose about to trail off.

"I told you not you call me that", He growled giving me a threatening glare that would scare anyone since he's a very big guy, nearly double my height and definitely more then double my weight. But he didn't scare me since I know that he's really a softy compared to his big boned muscly exterior.

"Why not? Trust me, the ladies like rhyming names", I teased, still a little breathless as I unwrapped my MMA fingerless boxing gloves.

"Real funny", he muttered before he shoved me in the shoulder with one hand so hard that I tumbled to the ground. I should have seen that coming. I was so out of it that I couldn't even stop my fall.

Dawson just stood over me, arms crossed with a huge grin on his face. Luckily the gym floors are matted because that would have hurt. I grumbled, giving him my fiercest glare as I pulled myself up into a sitting position.

"You're a bully", I frowned, forcing my still weak muscles to pick myself up. I put my head down, acting upset as Dawson took a step towards me.

"Oh, don't be like that, Jaime", he soothed guiltily, as he laid a hand on my shoulder.

As soon as his hand made contact, I rose my head, turned and lifted my knee. Dawson groaned so loudly, grabbing his manly bits as his knees buckled and he tumbled to the ground.

I laughed so loud that I almost lost my breath. "Now, do _you_ feel like you've been hit by a truck?"

He groaned, still clutching his crotch not even moving as his eyes were clenched shut in pain, "Y-Yes", he whined through a shallow breath.

"Then we're even", I grinned with a nod.

"You're so dead, Benson", he threatening in a weak tone as he finally opened his eyes to glare at me which wasn't so threatening since he was still lying pathetically on the floor.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Awesome Dawson!", I chuckled before turning on my heels , heading for the showers.

* * *

Brushing my fingers through my freshly showered hair, I pulled it up into a messy bun and secured it with a hair tie. I shoved my sweaty workout clothes into a plastic bag before I put them in my duffel. The women's showers here are pretty small compared to the men's but it was awesome because there's always a stall empty since there's only a handful of females that train here. I walked out into the small locker room and sat on the long wooden bench in the middle and laced my Chuck Taylor's on properly.

I was almost done when my phone started ringing and I quickly pulled it out of my duffel, checking the caller I.D before I answered.

"Hey, Mum", I said, placing the phone between the crock of my neck and my cheek, holding it there until I finished with my laces.

"Hey, hun", Mum mumbled into the phone sounding breathless and busy. I could hear papers being jumbled around and loud chatter. The precinct sounded really busy. "I'm going to be really late from work today. We just got new evidence that has totally changed this whole case around. There's still some money under the snow globe on the microwave, so just order takeout. I'm so sorry", she said genuinely sorry, and sounding really tired.

"It's alright, Mum. I knew hibernating for three days straight watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S. wouldn't last. I was actually planning to eat out with Danny tonight if that's okay", I said, waiting for her confirmation as I dropped my now laced shoes from the bench.

"Yeah, that's okay, Jaime. But don't be any later then nine-thirty, it's a schools night. And please call me when you get home so I know you're okay", Olivia ordered, repeating the rule I knew all too well.

"I will, Mum. Just don't work too hard, okay", I mumbled softly, sympathy in my voice. I knew my mother was tired and I hope she had it easy with the rest of her case.

"I'll try. Love you, hun."

"Love you too, Mum", I mumbled into the phone before I closed it. I grabbed my duffel, pulled on my leather jacket that I wore on top of khaki jeans and a shirt and walked outside.

"I heard you took down, Dawson", Danny grinned, pulling off the wall that he was leaning on with his duffel around his shoulder.

His light brown hair was still wet from his shower and slightly gelled into its normal short faux hawk hair do. He finished his session before me and has been waitinf for me to finish so we can go eat.

"I sure did, my friend", I nodded proudly and before I could react, something very heavy tackled me to the ground. "What the!", I groaned as I took in the large man that got off me, jumping up to his feet.

"You mess with me, you mess with Samoa", Dawson growled with a smirk as he pointed to his shirt with the Samoan flag printed on it. "And no one messes with Samoa!"

I looked at him in bewilderment, "W-What?", I breathed out complete astonishment and in pain, holding my arm that got hurt in the tackle.

Dawson just gave me a smirk before trodding off satisfied. Danny didn't even help me up, he just roared in laughter, holding his side breathless.

"Very funny, Danny. You want me to knee you too?", I grumbled, picking myself up from the floor and grabbing my bag that I dropped when I was thrown to the ground.

Danny suddenly stopped all laughter, giving me a serious glare as he took a cautious step back out of kneeing distance, "Don't you dare", he pointed his finger threateningly at me because he knew that I wouldn't hesitate.

"Then can it", I grumbled letting go of my aching arm as I walked towards Billy, the owners office.

"Y-You can it", he mumbled pathetically, having no comeback as he followed me, "Where you going?", he asked confused, seeing how we were meant to head out for Sushi.

"My mums going to be very late tonight, so I thought Billy can organise me a match", I answered, as I thud my knuckles against his door.

"Come in", I heard a grumble from behind the door.

"I thought we were gonna go eat", Danny groaned.

"Well, that was before I knew my mum's gonna be home late."

"Jaime, you haven't trained all week. Are you sure you're ready for another match?", he asked cautiously.

"I'm fine, but if you don't want to go with me then you don't have to", I shrugged.

"You know I don't like you going alone", he gave me a warning brotherly look.

"Then you're stuck with me", I grinned mischievously.

He rolled his eyes, "I'll wait for you outside", he mumbled before disappearing.

I pushed the door open, "Hey Billy, you busy?"

"Not for you, kid. Come on in", he smiled, dropping his pen that was hovering over a stack of papers on his desk.

Billy was a nice man. He was in his late fifty's, though still fit for his age which isn't surprising since he owns a gym. He was a pretty good MMA fighter back in his youth, won a lot of trophy's which are stored on shelves here in his office. He has long jet black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and a clean shaven jaw. He's usually wearing Adidas sport pants with his gym's custom shirt that had 'Billy's Ring' printed on it on top of a sketch of boxing gloves. It's a pretty neat shirt, I own a couple.

"How have you been? I haven't been seeing you around", Billy asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Danny and I usually come and train at least three times a week and since I've been grounded it's only been Danny. So I'm sure he's notice my absence since Danny and I are practically joined at the hip.

"I was grounded", I shrugged, wanting to change the subject. "But I'm back now. I'm wondering if you have a match for me tonight", I asked, sitting down on the uncomfortable wooden chair across from his large oak desk.

His eyes light up at this as he leaned forward on his desk, "Actually I do. Riley was meant to fight tonight but she cancelled half an hour ago. Told me she got the flu", he huffed with a roll of his eyes.

I snorted. Riley was one of the girls that train here and for some reason she's always getting sick. She's in her mid-twenties and for someone that is very athletic, she has a very weak immune system. This isn't the first time she has had to cancel a match because she's fell ill.

"I've had to cancel her match, but if you're up for it I'll call Tray and you can fill in", Billy suggested, already picking up the ancient looking office phone on his desk, the long black curly cord slapping against his forearm as he picked it up.

"Yeah, I want it", I nodded in excitement. Finally some action. "Who am I fighting?"

"One of Tray's new girls, her names Angela", he replied, dialing in the number and pulling the phone up to his ears. "I'll text you the whereabouts of the venue, okay?"

I nodded before getting up from the chair, "Thanks Billy. I'll see you later tonight then", I said and he gave me one final nod before talking into the phone.

"Hey Tray, it's Billy...", I heard his voice cut off as I walked out of his office and closed the door behind me.

So I know you're asking what I mean by 'match' and 'fighting'. Well, there's something my mother doesn't know and as long as I can avoid it, will never know. She thinks I go to Billy's gym to work out, and I do. But that's not all. Billy organises illegal underground cage fights. They have a couple of them a week and they are at a different venue every night. They keep changing locations every time because it's less likely to get caught. They've been matches in large empty fields, abandoned warehouses, old office buildings and once in an illegal casino. And the stakes are high too. The place gets packed and a lot of money is exchanged on bets. People have lost thousands of dollars on a match. The more money Billy cashes in on bets, the more I get for my winnings. It's a pretty goog system.

I know it's a little crazy but I love it. I've hit a punching box many times, but there's something exciting about hitting something that can actually hit back. You're whole body is pumping with blood so fast that you can hear your heart rate thumping hard against your chest. Hearing the yelling of the crowd, roaring for you to win. And listening to the lull of their fists repeatedly banging against the metal cage, as you zone them out and focus on your opponent. Watching your opponent very closely, their every action, their every twitch, and their every step, as you try to predict their next move. And the satisfying feeling of getting in that jab, hook, uppercut or kick that you were aiming for. And the best feeling, when you're opponent can't take anymore more and the announcer walks in, grabs your hand and pulled it up in the air, announcing you as the winner. That feeling is what I long for.

Being in those four caged walls, knocking it out with someone is my therapy. When I have a bad day, it's my cure. When Lena has given me a rough time at school, that cage is my release. Those days when I ache for the father that I've lost, it's my remedy. All the anger, the hurt, the pain, it's all let out in that cage.

That cage is something that my mother can never find out about. I don't know what she'll do if she ever does. But one thing I know for sure, it won't be pretty.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of that scary thought as my eyes scanned the gym looking for Danny. I found him by the front door speaking to Cassie, one of the females that trains here. She's the best female fighter here. She's in her early twenty's and has short dirty blonde straight hair, and green eyes. She's very pretty with full lips and sun-kissed skin.

But we've never got along. She's stuck up and usually is an ass, or she just acts that way with me because she finds me a threat. Even though I'm a lot younger, I'm her competition and every one knows it. She's been doing Muay Thai a lot longer then me but one day I will verse her, and I will kick her little blonde ass.

I gripped my bag tight as I walked up to them. Cassie saw me coming and her nose twitched up into a scowl as soon as her eyes landed on me.

"Hi, Jaime. Haven't seen you for a while", she forced on a smile as she turned to me.

"Been busy", I replied bluntly as I turned to my friend, "Ready to go, Danny?"

"Yeah, sure", he nodded, already knowing that we have tension as he looked over at me with a smirk and then back at Cassie, "I'll see you later, Cas", he gave her a smile before he turned and walked out the door.

"Bye Cassie", I gave her a sarcastic grin before I quickly followed behind him, not wanting to be next to her any longer.

"You could be a little nicer", he chuckled as the door shut behind us.

I groaned, rolling my eyes choosing to ignore him as I fell into step beside him as we walked to the Sushi restaurant that we always liked to hit after the gym. "You're jail bait to her Danny. So don't even bother", I shook my head, turning to him. He went to open his mouth to defend himself but I raised my hand to stop him, "Don't deny it", I told him knowing that the main reason he talked to her is because he found her hot.

He groaned, closing his mouth in defeat with a frown.

I smiled victorious, "It's okay. Sushi always makes you feel better", I soothed, tapping him on the shoulder.

"It does", he mumbled softly, nodding in agreement.

"Good. Now...", I mumbled and took a quick step forward, "Last one there has to pay", I yelled quickly before bolting it down the street towards the Sushi restaurant that was around the corner, just out of sight.

"Not fair!", he yelled and quickly chased after me, already knowing the rules.

* * *

_**Writer's Note:**_

_Tell me what you think._

_Rose x._


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

My knuckles burnt with that satisfying ache that I always got when I was in the middle of a fight. I clenched my fists tighter in anger as I glared into the eyes of my opponent, Angela. She was good, I'll give her that. I was getting more and more irritated and thirsty for the win with every blow my body received. We were on the fifth round and so far it seemed to be an even match. We both have gotten in some pretty got hits. The right side of my abdomen was aching and I knew that after this match, I'll find some very colourful bruising there. I also felt a heated ache on my left cheek from a stealthy couple of jabs that Angela managed to land. I hope it wouldn't bruise but by the feel of it, I knew it was already pretty red and soon will turn blue.

But beside both of us having about the equal amount of strength and fighting skill, I had something Angela didn't have, stamina. She was getting tired. I could tell by her heavy breathing, the very slight sag of her shoulders, the slower speed of her movements and the almost unnoticeable look of fear in her eyes.

I took this realisation in my favour as I silenced the roaring of the crowd and focused solely on my target in front of me. She was tired but she wasn't giving up easy that's for sure. I had to do this smart.

Everything seemed to go slower as I dropped my left fist from my face slightly, giving her an opening. She saw my movement and came at me, huffing and puffing in exhaustion as she swung a right jab at me. I quickly ducked and then swiftly uppercut my right fist into her abdomen, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could recover I swung a left hook hard into her jaw, making her head snap harshly to the side. I could see that my punch baffled her and she seemed dazed so I finished the job and vigorously threw my hands around her neck, grabbing her before I swung my knee up twice into her body. She lost total balance as I let her go and she forfeited to the ground. She was down and she stayed down. The sudden roaring of the crowd made me zone out of my trance as I dropped my fists at my sides and let out of breath of accomplishment.

I stood there in the middle of the ring, heaving and puffing in exhaustion. I could hear the crowd cheering, some swearing and banging their fists angrily against the cage. There are always unhappy people whether I win or lose because there's always someone who losses money when betting at the end. So I'm pretty cautious when I leave the ring because a crowd of angry intoxicated people in an illegal underground club aren't always in the best of spirits.

"And our winner...", Billy screamed joyfully on top of the roaring of the crowd as he came into the cage and grabbed my forearm. He looked down at me with a grin before he pulled my arm up into the air, "... Jay!"

Jay is my fighter name, obviously short for Jaime. Everyone here tends to not use their real names in the ring for a bit of anonymity.

The crowd roared again and I just nodded my head, wanting to get this part over and done with. I wasn't very fond of standing in the limelight. I just liked the exhilarating feeling of one to one combat, and the triumph of winning. I didn't do it for the recognition. I didn't care for the crowd screaming my name, I usually just tune them out because hearing them brings back the reality that what I'm during is very illegal. And that if my mother ever found out, I'll be dead meat.

I let the crowd and Billy cheer for my victory for a matter of about ten seconds before I pulled my hand out of his grasp and made my way out of the cage. I turned back like I do every match, glancing back at the girl I fought that was starting come to on the matted floor as she was aided by medics. I felt the familiar pang of guilt in my chest that erupts after every match I win. I just shake my head like I do every time, ridding it away.

I quickly made my way to the female locker room to get away from all the creepers outside who were wanting to either pat me on the back or curse about their losses in my face.

* * *

Danny and I walked out of the building, the noise of the rowdy crowd lessening with every step we took further away. Both our hands gripped the handle bars of our bikes as we walked beside them, pulling them through the bumpy concrete ground of the deteriorating and moldy abandoned warehouse that hosted tonight's fights.

The sound of the club from the warehouse was completely gone now and we both walked in a comfortable silence. Our sneakers thudding against the ground and our bike tires crackling through the broken cement pebbled floor were the only sounds piercing through the quiet peaceful night air.

"You did good tonight", Danny spoke softly, breaking the silence.

"Thanks", I mumbled in response, my eyes staring straight ahead as we got closer to the end of the abandoned property. I could see the street lights illuminating the exit gate and the road ahead.

"Your face is bruised up pretty bad though", Danny said more firmly, turning to me to examine my bruised cheek.

"I know...", I grumbled, shaking my head in irritation. "I didn't get any make-up with me so I hope my mums doesn't come home before I have time to cover it up", I said, pulling back a strand of my still sweaty moist hair behind my ear that managed to escape from its braid. I couldn't wait to go home, get out of these sweaty clothes and have a steaming hot shower to sooth my aching muscles.

Danny nodded in agreement as we reached the gate.

I readjusted the strap of my puffy gym bag across my torso before Danny and I swung our legs over our bikes in unison and pedaled down the road in silence, the chilly night air swooshing past us the faster we rode.

* * *

I saluted Danny goodbye as we got to my apartment building. I locked my bike against a pole inside the residents parking lot before I jogged fast up the stairs to the third level, not even bothering with the elevator. When I got to my level, I speed walked down the hall and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw light streaming through the bottom of the apartment front door.

Crap!

Mum's already home. I groaned as I pulled my bag forward and unzipped it, digging through it for my phone. I let out another groan as I saw four missed calls and three text messages from my mother asking where I am.

Crap indeed!

I reached back and pulled my hood up, hoping it would shadow the bruising on my cheek long enough for me to escape to the bathroom so I can shower and cover it up. Pulling out my key, I reluctantly unlocked the door and walked inside, kicking it shut softly behind me.

The lights were on in the kitchen and the living room, and my mothers bag was lying on top of the kitchen bench but she was no where to be found. I took the opportunity, and swiftly strode towards the bathroom. My hands were on the handle when I heard the familiar firm voice of Olivia Benson.

"Jaime", she spoke in that tough tone of hers that meant I was in trouble, instantly stopping me in my spot.

"Mum...", I mumbled softly as I turned around slightly so she wouldn't see the left side of my face.

"Where have you been, and why haven't you been answering your phone? I was getting worried!", Olivia almost yelled as she walked past the doorway of her bedroom and made her way towards me, still dressed from work.

"I told you I was eating out with Danny, remember", I replied with a shrug of my shoulders like I did nothing wrong. Fake it until you make it, I always say.

Olivia looked down at her watch, "You're way past curfew!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise how late it was until it was... too late", I replied with a guilty smile trying to get her to let me go on this one. My neck was going stiff from the position it was in, seeing how I was trying not to fully face my mother so she wouldn't see my banged up cheek.

My mother didn't say anything as she rose her brow, looking me up and down. Her eyes lingered on my gym bag before she took a step forward, closing the gap between us as she cocked her head to the side, "Look at me, Jaime", she said firmly, raising her hands to her hips.

"What...", I began to reply in confusion.

"Drop the hood and look at me", she snapped impatiently.

We stared each other out for a long ten seconds before I gave up and groaned. I pulled back my hood and turned my head slightly, refusing to let her see my cheek.

Olivia rose her hand and grabbed my chin softly, turning me to face her before she let out a shocked gasp dropping her hand instantly. "What happened?!", she almost yelled concerned. She placed her hand on the back of my neck, pulling me gently forward so she could examine my cheek more closely.

"Nothing, mum. It was just an accident", I replied, pulling away from her hold and taking a small step back.

She didn't say anything as she just looked into my eyes, reading me. She frowned as realisation hit her making her face scrunch up in anger, "You were sparring at Billy's again weren't you? How many times have I told you that the only thing I want you hitting is a punching bag?!", she yelled.

This isn't the first time I've come home from a fight with bruises. I told my mother then that it was just bruises from training in a friendly fight session with a girl at Billy's. I told her we wore protective head gear and body gear which was the farthest from the truth. She bought it and still wasn't happy but I'd rather her believe that then the truth, the truth would get me grounded for eternity. She was furious, she told me that she only wanted me to train with punching bags and not with anything that can hit back. I told her it wouldn't happen again.

"We were just fooling around, Mum", I whined about what she thought was the truth.

"That looks like more then just fooling around", she hissed out as she looked at my bruised cheek.

"I'm so...", I felt a tickle in my nose and before I could finished, I sneezed twice.

My mum stopped, looking at me with a raised brow as I sniffed, my nose getting watery.

"You alright?", she asked, the anger slowly deteriorating from her voice.

"Fine...", I nodded before I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose.

"You getting sick?", Olivia asked, stepping forward.

"I don't get sick", I grumbled with a shake of my head. I haven't been sick for years to be honest. I was blessed with a strong immune system like my mother's, and getting sick is the last thing I needed right now.

Olivia groaned returning back to the subject, "You're not allowed to go to Billy's."

"What!", I almost yelled.

"I already told you no sparring but you ignored me and did it again anyways. You're not allowed to go back until I feel that I can trust you again, understand?"

"But Mum...", I began to whine.

"Do you understand?", she repeated again, stretching out each word with a firm look in her eyes.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to scream and shout but I knew that it wouldn't do any good. Never argue with Olivia Benson. You'll never win.

But Billy's wasn't just the place I worked out. No, it was somewhere I felt that I belonged. I've been going there for years. I know everyone there and it's where I feel the most at ease. At school, it's just Danny and I. I never truly felt like I belonged there. Everyone is in their own cliques and Danny and I are on the outside being mocked for our differences. It didn't bother me really but I was never truly at ease there. But at Billy's, I knew everyone by name, from the trainers right down to Micky the janitor. We were a family. It was a place where I felt I truly belonged other than home.

My mother had her place where she belonged, it was her work. And just like she had hers, I needed mine. And she was taking it away from me.

But I just groaned and swallowed down my want to argue as I nodded my head, not trusting myself to vocally respond.

Before my mother could open her mouth again, I felt another familiar tickle in my nose. I quickly pulled out a tissue from its box, raising it up to my face before I sneezed into it, four brutal times.

Great.

* * *

_**Writer's Note:**_

_Next chapter is what a lot of you have asked for: Jaime gets sick and Olivia nurses her back to health._

_Hope you enjoyed this chappy._

_Rose x._


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

A loud, irritating beeping noise made my eyes shoot open. I groaned, slamming my hand on the alarm clock sitting on my bedside table. Luckily it was in arms reach so quickly snoozed it and snuggled back into my covers. Before I could get comfortable again I felt a dulling ache in my head and as I focused on it more and started to really wake up, I felt the dryness in my throat and dampness of my nose.

Before I could puzzle all these symptoms together, I felt an inch in my nostrils and then I let out a heavily congested sneeze that brought an ache to my chest. Then I sneezed again, and again.

_Crap._

I grunted in annoyance and got out of bed, forcing myself to get through the day because the last thing I wanted was to be sick. I went to the bathroom, doing my business and was washing my hands when I finally looked up and noticed myself in the mirror. I looked like an absolute wreck! My left check was covered in dark blue and green bruises with a tinge of redness where Angela's knuckles actually collided. Under my left eyelid was pretty dark from the impact of the blow, but my other eyelid was also a little dark from the lack of sleep.

Last night my mind kept working on overdrive and wouldn't let me get any rest. My mother's words kept replaying in my head and the fact that she wouldn't let me go back to Billy's was really bugging me and I couldn't doze off. And don't forget the fact that I had to keep pulling out tissues to blow my nose. By morning there's a mountain of white scrunched up tissues piling up on my bedside table. I groaned from tiredness, washed my face and blew out the mucous that managed to clog up my nose throughout the night. Disgusting, I know. When I was done, I got dressed in my school uniform, not putting on too many layers because somehow I felt warm even though it was cold outside.

Packing my school books in my bag, I threw it over my shoulder and walked out of my room. My mother was in the kitchen, filling up her mug with freshly made coffee from the coffee maker. I plopped my bag on the kitchen counter and was reaching for my own mug from the cupboard when I let out a sickly sounding sneeze, quickly catching it in my palm.

This made my mothers head shoot up and give me a once over, her eyes lingering for a couple seconds on my bruised cheeked, "Jaime, you don't look so good", she muttered in concern as she took a step towards me, her voice still a little too tight because she was still not very happy with me.

I quickly took a step back, holding my hands up in the air to stop her, "I'm not sick. I refuse to be sick", I mumbled, not sounding like myself through my blocked nostrils.

Olivia rose her brow challenging me, "If you can keep your mouth closed for sixty-seconds, then I'll believe you're not sick"

"Fine", I took the challenge, putting my hand over my mouth but it didn't go very well because my nostrils were so blocked that no oxygen was flowing through my nostrils. After about thirty seconds of practically holding my breath, I couldn't handle it anymore and dropped my hand, quickly inhaling oxygen from my mouth. Holding my breath seemed to take a lot of my energy. It worsened my light headache, making me feel a little dizzy and light on my feet.

Instead of my mother giving me a 'I told you so' look, she gave me a concerned motherly one as she walked up to me and placed her palm on my forehead. Her touch felt so cool compared to my warm temperature.

"Baby...", she mumbled in worry, "You're hot."

"I'm fine, Mum", I mumbled, lying to myself as I took a step back and coughed into my hand, my throat feeling like someone ran it through a cheese-grater.

"You're not fine", Olivia grumbled, getting frustrated with my continuous denial as she turned and started to rummage through the medicine cupboard in the one of the upper kitchen cabinets. She pulled out a thermometer and walked up to me and forced me to sit down on stool in the kitchen.

"Mum...", I whined but she shook her head, telling me not to argue as she made me put the thermometer under my armpit. I felt like a five year old but chose not to complain just to put my mother at ease so she would believe that I was fine.

We both stood there in silence, my mother standing there with one hand on my shoulder and the other holding the thermometer in place. Her lips were pursed in distress as she waiting impatiently for the device to read my temperature. The small machine finally beeped and Olivia pulled it out, reading my temperature on the little digital screen. The thermometer was definitely outdated and most likely hasn't been used since I was a child.

"You have a fever. You're not going to school", Olivia ordered as she turned to return the device back to the medicine cabinet where it would stay until another couple of years, hopefully.

"Oh, come on Mum!", I whined, sliding off the high stool. "I'm not that sic...", I couldn't finish my sentence, as an itchy dryness in my throat made my eyes water and I had a coughing fit in my enclosed fist.

"You were saying?", Olivia asked in a reluctant, concerned tone with her brow raised.

"But Danny was supposed to trade me my Assassin's Creed for his new Grand Theft Auto game today", I complained, pulling out my Assassin's Creed game packet from my bag and waving it around like it was my ticket out of here.

"Well, he can come past after school instead", Olivia said as she grabbed her phone and pulled it up to her ears.

"Who are you calling?", I asked.

"Just letting the Capt know I won't be coming in today", she answered, the dial ringing in her ears.

"You don't need to do that. I'll be fine here on my own", I said, not wanting to be the reason she's missing work.

"I won't be fine with you here on your own", she mumbled back softly, giving me a sympathetic look, "I've got to make sure your fever stays down", she placed her hand on my forehead again and then she dropped it to my cheek, giving me a small reassuring smile.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my school bag before I turned and walked back to my bedroom to change out of my school clothes, letting a small smile escape from my lips before I began coughing again.

* * *

Daytime TV sucks.

It totally sucks ass.

That's what I've successfully discovered as I laid down on the couch in the living room, flicking through the channels without any luck of finding anything descent to watch. I've propped myself up with the pillows from my bed and covered myself in a thin blanket since I felt pretty warm. I wore my favourite thin black and white aztec patterned tights with an over-sized homey maroon t-shirt that I was sure I bought on sale in the men's section. Yes, I confess sometimes I buy men's shirts for pajamas. Sue me.

It's been a couple of hours since my mother forced me to stay home and I was bored out of my brains, not to mention that I felt as though I was getting worse by the minute. The first thing my mother did was make me to lie down and I didn't argue since my body felt so weak and my coughing was getting more intense. Then she put a box of tissues in front of me on the coffee table and a small bin on the floor beside me. After that she told me she was going to quickly get some things from the store and she came back with medicine and fresh groceries. Looks like I'll be eating a nice home cooked meal tonight. I would be excited for it but after the light breakfast my mother made me, I realised that I didn't have much taste buds. And not being able to taste food is the worst of symptoms.

I groaned for the millionth time today and switched off the TV as it started to give me a headache. I let out an irritated breath, kicking off the thin blanket that covered me. Was it getting hotter in here or was it just me? It felt like I was being suffocated with the increasing heat of my own body temperature!

The touch of my loose hair against my neck felt like fire and I quickly pulled my hair up in a messy bun, and secured it with a hair tie. The small action of tying my hair made my muscles ache and I quickly dropped my arms with a huff, my whole body feeling weak and exhausted. I lied down, stretching my legs out as I adjusted my head against the pillow, trying to find a comfortable position.

When I finally did, my eyes began to flutter close and I was just about to dose off when I heard a loud bang in the kitchen, making my relaxed muscles tense up and my eyelids shoot back open.

"Uhhh...", I heard my mother groan from the kitchen in frustration.

"You okay, mum?", I called from the couch, not having the energy to move from my spot.

"Yeah, I'm fine honey. Just broke a plate", Olivia groaned and I could hear the sound of glass scratching against the tiled floor as she scooped up the mess with a dustpan.

"Well, try not to do anymore damage. Being clumsy is my job remember?", I mumbled weakly in my attempt at a joke as my eyes began to close again.

I heard the familiar sound of my mothers laughter and her mumble something back but I was already blacking out again.

Suddenly, I felt something cool against my forehead then it slid down to my cheek.

"Jaime..."

My eyes reluctantly opened slightly to the call of my name and I saw my mother hovering over me with her hand on my cheek.

"Baby, you're on fire", she yelped, her chocolate brown eyes boring into mine in worry.

"Mmm f-fine", I mumbled as I turned my head away so I can dose off again.

"You are not fine", Olivia gasped and I felt her cool hand pull away and quick heavy footsteps and bangs and clanks from the kitchen.

A minute later I felt something cold and wet being placed against my forehead and the strong smell of vinegar somehow managed to seep through my blocked nostrils.

"W-what hou d-hoing", I murmured out incoherently as I tried to turn my head away from the disturbance of my sleep.

"Trying to bring down your fever. Stop moving, Jaime", my mother ordered and I could hear the slight shake in her voice from worry.

I exhaled a breath and stopped moving, finding the sudden new cool sensation against my forehead soothing. I forced my heavy eyelids to open and looked up at my mother as the cloth heated up against my warm temperature and she flipped it over to the cool side.

"T-Thanks Mum", I smiled, my voice making her eyes drop from the cloth to my matching chocolate irises. No matter how old you are, the mothers touch is always going to the most comforting when you're in pain.

"You don't have to thank me for doing my job", Olivia replied genuinely, her mouth smoothing into a grin.

I frowned slightly at her words, the feelings of guilt settling in as the drowsiness of sleep started to disappear. "I'm sorry that I'm such a pain in the ass sometimes... a lot of the time", I corrected myself and my mother opened her mouth to respond but I quickly cut her off before she could object, "And I'm sorry for not listening to you", I mumbled softly my eyes dropping down towards my bruised cheek because I didn't have the energy to raise my hands and point out what I meant.

I knew my mother didn't want me to put myself in risky situations and get hurt. And even though I don't really regret what I did, I still feel sorry for doing it because not only am I doing what she told me not to, I'm also lying. She believed that I got injured during a friendly training session at the gym, rather then the truth which is that I was involved in a full on cage fight in an abandoned building. I felt so guilty and wrong from keeping my hidden hobby from her but I knew she will never, ever let me keep doing what I was doing if she found out.

"Don't worry about that now", Olivia said as she bruised her thumb gently across my colourful bruised cheek. "And you're never a pain", she chuckled slightly as she removed the now warm cloth from my forehead. She then dunked it in a bowl of cold water mixed with vinegar and squeezed the moisture from the cloth before folding it and placing it back on my forehead. The cloth was cool again and it was making me feel a little better already.

"Does that mean I'm forgiven and no longer banned from Billy's?", I asked cheekily through hopeful eyes.

Olivia frowned at my attempt, "Just because you're sick doesn't mean I'm going to let everything slide".

"I know, but mum you can't take Billy's away from me", I pleaded softly, looking into my mothers eyes in complete seriousness, "I don't just go there to hit a punching bag. I go there because it's the only place I fit in. At school, no one talks or even looks at Danny and I. Every one is in their own world, doing their own thing. But at Billy's, it's a totally different atmosphere...", I explained, my mum listening to me with a serious look on her face. "It's my world, it's my thing...", I trailed off, hoping that she understood.

A silence fell between us as Olivia considered what I said and I waited impatiently for her response. After what felt like hours, which was only mere seconds, mum dropped her gaze before looking back at me and nodded.

"I understand...", she mumbled softly with a small smile, "We'll talk about it when you get better..."

I was about to open my mouth unsatisfied with her response but she quickly cut me off, knowing me too well.

"And don't worry... I'm not going to take something that important away from you", she smiled before she flipped the cloth over again to the cool side.

I grinned happily, "Gracias, mama" _\- 'Thanks, mum'_

* * *

Half an hour later, and my fever has gotten down sightly but not enough. Mum kept freshening up the cloth on my forehead and it helped me not feel so suffocated by my intense body heat.

"Jaime, take these", mum said, handing me a glass of water and holding out two white pills in her open palm.

"Mum, I will not get stoned with you", I smirked and she just gave me a blank look at my poor attempt at a joke.

"You're lucky you're sick", she replied as I took the water and downed it after the pills. "If that doesn't take your temperate down in the next hour, Doctor Leeza told me to bring you in", she mumbled through pursed lips as she felt my cheek, concerned that my temperature wasn't dropping.

Before I could argue she removed the cloth from my forehead, grabbed the bowl of water and disappeared into the kitchen. A minute later she came back with a fresh batch of cold water. She gave the cloth a good squeeze and placed it back on my forehead, the smell of the vinegar a little stronger then before.

"Now I feel like some salt and vinegar chips", I coughed out, looking over at my mum who was sitting on the coffee table, leaning over me as she adjusted the cloth.

"You're not going near any junk today", she mumbled as she pulled her hands back, "That feel okay?"

I nodded, looking into my mothers worried eyes.

"Good", she nodded aswell, "I'm going to make you some hot chicken soup, make your throat feel better. How does that sound?"

"Perfect, thanks Mum", I forced on a smile, even though I was feeling too nauseous for food.

"No worries, baby", she smiled, stroking my cheek softly with her thumb before pulling away and going to the kitchen to start on dinner.

* * *

The next hour was filled with my mother continuously going back and forth from the kitchen to my pathetic self on the couch, checking my temperature with the thermometer again and again. The medication seemed to work and I was feeling a lot better. Mum was finally satisfied with my temperature and was now in the kitchen cooking dinner, not checking on me as regularly as before. I sat back up and attempted to find something decent on TV again since my headache seemed to wear off. There was a knock on the door and my head shot up, which I instantly regretted since my body still ached and felt weak.

"I'll get it", mum mumbled from the kitchen and I heard her stop stirring the pot on the stove as she walked over to the door.

I turned around slightly, craning my neck out to see who was at the door, hoping it was Danny.

"Hey, Liv", Nick smiled as Olivia opened the door. He was holding a yellow manila folder in his hands. I sighed in disappointment as I turned back to the TV as I continued to flick through the channels. I had no luck so I gave up and lounged back on the couch, stretching my aching muscles as I closed my eyes for a bit.

"Nick, hey", Olivia greeted as she stepped aside so he can walk in before closing the door. "What are you doing here?", she asked as she motioned him to follow her into the kitchen.

"Just dropping by some paperwork that Cragen needs you to finish on the Wilkins' case from last week", he answered placing the manila folder on the only free spot he found on the kitchen top which wasn't being filled with the mess of his partners cooking. Mum gave him a nod in thanks as she chopped up some vegetable to add to the soup.

"So how'd it go today? How many girls did you get to come forward about their attack?", Olivia asked her partner, getting an update on the current case they were working on.

Nick shook his head in disappointment, "Zero... zip... zilch... nada...", he mumbled slowly in irritation under his breath.

"What?", she breathed out in frustration, pausing from chopping as she paid attention to her partner, her knife hovering over a piece of carrot.

"They're all too scared Liv, and I don't blame them", Nick replied in a soft sympathetic tone. "We got new details on this case today from one of the victims, showing us just how sick this guy is. He...", he began, about to dish out the new information he found on their case.

My eyes shot open, "Woah...", I quickly stopped him as I called out from the couch, my throat cracking. I forced my lazy body to sit up and I turned to my mother and her partner in the kitchen. I wasn't in the mood to hear any gory details. I was sure anything would make me puke right now with how I was feeling. And I knew that my innocent bystander ears weren't meant to be hearing their conversation. "I'm right here, Detectives. Ain't there this whole confidentiality thing you always shut me up with when I start asking questions about your cases, Mum?", I asked making Nick turn to me. He had a look of surprise on his face since he didn't even realise I was there.

"Oh, sorry", Olivia apologised surprised with herself, "I'm so used to you always being in your room, I forget you were there for a second", she said sincerely as she turned to her partner then back at me.

"How could you? You won't let me move from this couch", I croaked out through my dry throat as I grabbed a tissue to blow my now dry and sore red nose.

"Well, Doctor Leeza said you have to be on bed rest", my mother replied before dropping her head and returning to chopping vegetables.

"This ain't my bed", I grumbled, turning back to the TV and grabbing the remote I discarded not too long ago. All I wanted right now was to be at Billy's. Even though I was dead tired and nowhere near able to train physically, I just wanted to be in that atmosphere, with Danny and my friends there. I even missed yelling and arguing with Dawson.

"Hey, Jaime...", I heard Nick call as he moved from the kitchen and walked over to me.

I discarded the remote once again and turned to him, hoping he'll entertain me a little since the TV wasn't being much help. "Nicholas, como te va", I greeted, sounding a bit off through my blocked nose. - '_Nicholas, how's it going?'_

"Woah...", Nick stopped abruptly as he kneeled down in front of me, "What happened?", he asked in shock as he noticed the bruising on my cheek.

"Usted no contestó mi pregunta", I replied sternly, ignoring his worry. - _'You didn'__t answer my question'._

Nick groaned, "estoy bien, gracias". - _'I'm fine, thanks'_

"That's...", I began to try and change the subject again but he quickly cut me off.

"Did you get in a fight at school again?", he asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"No...", I grumbled, really not wanting to talk about it. "This was just an accident", I shrugged, pointing to my cheek like it was nothing.

"It was no accident", Olivia called out from the kitchen, making Nick stand back up so he can see her, "She was sparring at the gym when she knows she's not allowed", she said through a firm and displeased tone as she put the vegetables she chopped into the bubbling pot on the stove.

I groaned with a roll of my eyes not having the energy for this as I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose. I thought I sorted things out with her but I guess she was still unhappy with the fact that I got hurt. I turned back to Nick with a smirk, "You should see the other girl."

Nick didn't laugh as he just looked at me, "That's not funny", he mumbled, displeased "You could have gotten really hurt."

"Thank's Mum", I mocked under my breath and turned towards the TV which was playing some old movie that was made in the eighty's.

He must of heard me because he sighed and leaned back on the armrest of the couch adjacent to mine, "So besides your...", he trailed off pointing to his own cheek, gesturing to mine, "How you feeling?", he asked, trying to change the subject because he knew I was getting annoyed from being lectured.

"Great", I croaked out sarcastically before I coughed into a bundle of tissues until I got rid of the tickle in my throat. When I was done, I sniffed and lowered my head as I whispered, "I'll give you fifty bucks if you sneak me out of here."

Nick chuckled, shaking his head as he folded his arms across his chest, "Por supuesto no", he muttered not even considering my offer. _\- 'Of course not'.  
_"And there's no way I can sneak you past your mother even though I wanted to. She is a detective, remember?", he asked with a smirk.

"Gracias por nada", I glared at him but he just grinned in return. _\- 'Thanks for nothing'._

Before I could suggest an escape plan, there was a knock on the door and I began to get up from the couch but my mother strode out of the kitchen, pointing a finger at me to stay put.

"I'll get it. You, lie down", she ordered as she pulled the door open, revealing my best friend that I was so very thankful to see.

"Danny!", my voice squeaked out in my attempt of a yell, as I sat up straighter on the couch.

"Hey, Jay", he grinned walking over to me, "You look like crap", he chuckled, not loud enough for my mother to hear as he turned to Nick with a questioning look.

"Oh, this is my mothers partner Nicholas Amaro", I smirked, using his full name when I knew he didn't like it and then turned to Nick, gesturing to Danny, "And this is my friend Daniel Menendez"

"It's just Nick", Nick greeted, giving me a glare on the side of his eye as he turned to him.

"And it's just Danny", Danny sighed as he gave Nick a welcoming nod and friendly smile.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted... Danny, it's time to trade", I grinned, rubbing my hands together.

Danny dropped his gym bag on the coffee table in front of me and pulled out the Grand Theft Auto game, and Nick disappeared to the kitchen back to Olivia.

"You went to Billy's without me?", I questioned with a hurt expression on my face as I noticed he had his gym bag with him and his hair was still slightly moist from the shower I assumed he had at Billy's after he finished training.

"Yeah...", Danny answered, unsure with his answer.

"You traitor!", I yelled, my voice coming out more then before as I pointed an accusing finger at him. "That's it! You are banished from the Benson household! Banished!", I coughed hysterically again, my throat drying up from all my attempts at yelling.

"Woah... careful there, princess. You might pull something", Danny laughed at my pathetic state as I sniffed and he pulled out a tissue from its box and handed it to me.

I snatched it out of his hand and blew my nose, "Just put the game on", I groaned.

* * *

Danny and I took turns completing missions on Grand Theft Auto, swapping the controller over every time one of us died or completed a mission. And I was getting frustrating because I died three times already during crossfire because I was either sneezing four times in a row or I was using one hand to cover a overload of dry, chest aching coughs. Mum was still in the kitchen and Nick was helping her cook as they talked about work.

I was getting tired. I wanted to call it a night and it was only seven-thirty. But my body felt weak and flushed out from the fever that it endured, and I began to feel the coolness of the air in my short sleeved shirt. I picked up the blanket I discarded earlier from the floor and pulled it over me, covering my bare arms. I watched Danny bazooka a truck on the game, completing the mission. My eyes began to sting from looking at the TV for too long and a light headache began to form again from the brightness of the TV. Danny smiled triumphantly at his win and turned to me, handing me the controller.

I shook my head, waving a dismissing hand at the controller, "I'm good. You do the next mission", I sniffed as I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping to ease the headache that was forming again.

"You alright?", Danny asked concerned, putting the controller on the coffee table.

"Yeah...", I nodded and before I could say anything else I heard footsteps exit the kitchen and I looked up at Nick walking up to us with my mother following behind.

"Alright, I've got to go", Nick breathed out tiredly as he leaned over at me from the back of the couch and gave my shoulder a soft squeeze, "Hope you feel better soon, Jaime", he gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Me too", I nodded as I tapped his hand on my shoulder in agreement. "Bye, Nick"

"Bye...", he mumbled and turned to Olivia as she walked him to the door.

"So your mum and her new partner seem pretty tight", Danny mumbled more to himself then to me as his eyes followed them to the door.

"Yeah, he's a good guy", I nodded as he left and Mum closed the front door.

"Danny...", she called as she walked over to us, "Want to join us for dinner?"

"Oh, crap", he blurted looking down at his watch, "Sorry Ms. B, I didn't realise how late it is", he mumbled getting up from the couch and grabbing his phone. "My Dad's making his infamous shepherds pie. And I told him I'll make it home on time so we can have a normal family dinner, and actually use the dining table", he chuckled, shaking his head as he walked toward the door and I pulled myself up, following him even though my mother was eyeing me for leaving the couch.

"Sounds like fun", mum said, placing a hand on my back as she followed me to the door.

I sighed, a small smile reaching my lip. Does she think I'm going to collapse and faint or something?

"Mmm", Danny grinned with enthusiam as he pulled open the door, "I'll see you tomorrow at school?", he asked me in a questioning tone.

"I don't think so, Danny. But we'll see how she feels tomorrow", mum replied for me before she walked back to the kitchen to fill two bowls with chicken soap, "Thanks for coming by, Danny", she called after herself.

"Bye Ms. B", he replied and turned back to me, "I'll see you when you get better then", he nudged his shoulder into mine softly.

I nodded, "Bye, Danny"

"Bye, firecracker", he winked before he turned on his heels and jogged down the hall toward the elevator, not wanting to be late for dinner with his Dad.

* * *

_**Writer's Note:**_

_Hey Dudes._  
_Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and sorry that it took so long. But I didn't want to disappoint you guys, and I hope I didn't._

_Let me know what you think._

_Rose x._


	9. On Hiatus

_**Writer's Note:**_

Hey readers!

I know I've neglected my stories for a while, but it's going to be even longer until I can update again.  
I'm going to be busy for the next two months and won't be able to write during that time.

I just thought I'll give you guys a heads up and I apologise for being so annoying!

Hope you can be patient with me until I return, hopefully with some more imagination ;)

Sorry again,  
Rose x.


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